Point of a Spear
by Z98
Summary: After decades of stagnation, a series of events begin the reunification of the Brotherhood of Nod.  With GDI having grown complacent over the years, the storm about to hit will test the resolve of both sides.  Tiberian Sun and Firestorm novelization.
1. Prologue

Point of a Spear

"_Although a soldier by profession, I never felt_

_any sort of fondness for war, and I never advocated it,_

_except as a means of peace."_

_-General Ulysses S. Grant_

Prologue: Honor Amongst Enemies

G.D.S.S. Philadelphia

0900 GMT

February 6, 2030

The briefing room on the Philadelphia was one of the most secure places on and off the planet. Known to the few people aware of it as Point of No Return, the chamber was so heavily shielded with various ECMs that no electronics were allowed to be brought in. A good many such devices had been fried over the last few years and despite the scarcity of space, thick bulkheads kept the room isolated both for its own secrecy and to prevent any wanderers from frying their equipment by passing too close. The few people with high enough clearance to enter didn't bother bringing anything except their uniforms and IDs. Everything they would need for this briefing was already inside.

Lights flickered on automatically and revealed a fairly spartan room. Tablet viewers were set before each seat but they would hardly occupy all of them. The elderly African American general took the seat closest to the door and waited for everyone else to find their places. A single officer, a colonel and thus the most junior of those assembled, walked to the far side. Then again, with such a small room, he wasn't that far from General James Solomon.

"EVA, activate, authorization Colonel Grant Menwell, authentication Alpha Bravo 568 Niner."

A slight pause and a female voice answered. "Authentication confirmed. Good day, Colonel Menwell. Awaiting further instructions."

Another feature of this room was its own EVA unit. Isolated from the rest of the systems and shut down whenever not in use, this EVA had been specially modified and hardened against any attempts to initiate communications. The only contact any outside system would have was to respond to the EVA's own queries. Nothing outside was permitted to preemptively interact with it.

"All right Grant, let's get this going," Solomon said impatiently. "The latest intel reports haven't been very promising."

"No sir," Menwell agreed. "From all indications, our mole has been losing more and more support within the Brotherhood. If he is overthrown, Nod may very well become a major threat once more."

A few grunts of agreement answered him and Menwell continued. "EVA, briefing report 265-C."

A beep sounded as images of several men appeared on the screen behind Menwell. The data tablets also came alive and displayed the same information to allow each officer to examine the reports in more detail.

"These five men are major players in the Nod hierarchy, each with varying amounts of power and influence. Each has their own agenda, which we've used over the past few years to keep Nod divided and weak. However, certain developments are beginning to threaten the status quo."

The colonel tapped the first one and brought it to the forefront. "General Hassan. He is currently the de facto leader of the Brotherhood. His power base is in northern Africa but he commands at least the nominal loyalties of every other major Nod faction. We helped maneuver him into power and Hassan has ensured that the Brotherhood remains splintered and stagnate in return. Nevertheless, Hassan's power is tenuous as there are plenty of Nod cells that would love to have a more dynamic leader. Keeping him in power is the surest way of keeping Nod contained and harmless."

The image receded and Menwell moved onto the next profile. "General Vega. Vega is more druglord than a military commander, but the money his eyecandy trade brings in makes him a major player. We also have reason to believe Vega is an eyecandy user himself. Vega is supposedly loyal to Hassan, but the distance between the two prevent either from interfering too much with the other and is the likelier reason Vega hasn't made a move against Hassan. However, this distance also prevents Hassan from fully restraining Vega, and the general has been attempting to expand his territories further north. As such, Vega is a real threat, not just a potential one."

The next image was blurred, though an outline of a man was visible. "General Richard O'Connor. He's an enigma in many ways, and most of our data is purely speculation based on what is known about him. We know O'Connor is responsible for Nod forces in most of Russia, but we don't know what his objectives are. O'Connor is also nominally loyal to Hassan, but we believe O'Connor is actively pursuing another agenda. Intelligence does suggest Russia is where some of Nod's more interesting R&D projects are hidden, which would make O'Connor a major player. However, there's been no confirmation."

"More interesting projects," Major General Ismael Khalid muttered. "Does that include those cyborgs?"

Menwell shook his head. "There have actually been very few cyborg sightings in Russia. The few skirmishes our forces have fight with Nod were against regular infantry, though from the after action reports, O'Connor's troops are well trained, well armed, and extremely tenacious. If O'Connor decided to move against Hassan, he would be a concern, but both distance and the size difference between their respective forces would work against him. As such, O'Connor is considered a minor threat, but one we will need more intelligence on."

The fourth image was of a balding, pompous looking man. "General Marzaq. Marzaq's loyalties are to himself. He obeys Hassan because Hassan is in power, not out of any belief in the man as a leader. As such, Marzaq is likely to turn the moment he smells blood. In order to keep him under control, Hassan has to maintain a strong image. Nevertheless, Marzaq's ambition is well known. He's proven a capable commander, but because of his self-serving nature, it's unlikely Marzaq could gain too many followers if he himself attempted a coup. The danger is in Marzaq joining an uprising against Hassan."

The last image was crystal clear and showed a determined and dangerous looking young man. "General Anton Slavik, leader of the Black Hand. This makes him the second most powerful man in Nod and the legitimate heir to the leadership. Originally a Serbian freedom fighter, Slavik was known as the Serbian Wolf for his ruthlessness. That same ruthlessness is what allowed him to assume control of the Black Hand. Slavik has been pushing Hassan to be more aggressive and his disagreements with Hassan's methods are well known even amongst the Brotherhood rank and file. This makes him the most immediate threat to Hassan. Also, if O'Connor and Marzaq decide to support any attempt by Slavik, his chances of success would almost be assured."

"We are perfectly aware of how dangerous Slavik is," Solomon said. "The question now is how best to neutralize him. To have us kill him would make the man a martyr, making him a rallying cry for any other disaffected Nod cells."

"Agreed sir," said Menwell. "That is why I am here today to propose Operation: Turtledove. EVA, briefing report 265-D."

The photos receded and were replaced by various data entries. At the same time, the data tablets also changed their displays.

"As one of the contingencies for Hassan's discovery or threat of discovery, my team has worked out a set of forgeries and changes designed to implicate someone else as our mole. It would have had to been someone highly placed and in the Euro-African theater, as otherwise we wouldn't be able to make the evidence convincing. Slavik fits both requirements and it's simply a matter of refining the details to fit him specifically."

"And what exactly do you intend to do with these forgeries?" Solomon asked. "Are you suggesting we give them to Hassan?"

Menwell nodded. "Yes sir. That way, Hassan can stage a trial to incriminate Slavik and provide an excuse for executing him. And with Slavik branded as a traitor, it should give pause to any of his supporters. This would also present an opportunity to clean up the Black Hand. Over all the years, the Black Hand remains the most fanatical and loyal to Kane's ideals. If we could cripple them, it would go a long way to ending Nod once and for all."

Several of the generals nodded approvingly but skepticism refused to be buried.

"Colonel, what's the possible fallout from a failed execution?" Lieutenant General Paul Cortez asked.

Menwell breathed deeply. "It would set off a civil war within Nod, one which Hassan may very likely lose. An attack on the Black Hand, supposedly the most loyal and dedicated of all Nod factions, will not go overlooked. If Slavik were to escape, he could rally Hassan's enemies to him and pose a serious threat. But even that should buy us some time, as it would take a while for Slavik to outright defeat Hassan, if he could manage it."

"In which case we would have a Nod leader who's not afraid to attack us head on and fight a real war," Cortez finished. "General, if we do execute, I'd like permission to go to def-con 2. If this thing blows up in our faces, I'd like to be prepared."

"I respectfully advise against that, General," Menwell said. "Any activity on our end might alert Nod and make them suspicious."

"I agree," Solomon said. "Def-con 2 may be jumping the gun a little. If this op goes as planned, we'd have stirred things up for nothing."

"Sir, I still think-"

"I'm aware of your concerns, Paul," said Solomon. "I'm willing to go to a limited def-con 3. Ismael, when we execute, I want your troops ready for rapid deployment. If this thing turns sour, I want to be able to react quickly."

"Yes sir."

Menwell waited patiently, though Solomon's orders had already committed the general to carrying out the operation. Everyone else in the room knew this, though a few looked less than thrilled. Menwell knew some of the generals in here didn't think much of him. After all, he had never served in the field. He was a career Intelligence Operations officer who had never fired a shot in combat. Thus the shared brotherhood of those who've been under fire did not include him, while it did include every single officer he had just briefed. However, Menwell was determined to show he was just as capable of fighting this war in his own way. He could do far more behind the desk than as some grunt out in the field.

"All right," said Solomon. "We can't just sit here while Hassan's position is being eaten away. None of us like the bastard, but better the devil we know than the devil we don't. Colonel, finalize your preparations. I want to get this underway as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

"Now, before we convene, are there any other objections?"

The question was a mere formality. When Solomon had made up his mind, no one was going to bother contradicting him. Menwell suppressed a smile, knowing he had succeeded. But this was only the first step. Now he needed to make sure the operation succeeded.

Makhachkala, Russia

1700 Local Time

April 12, 2030

The chaingun roared for a full minute, spewing forth hot lead. Flashes lit up the barrel and the sound of spent cartridges clinked as they fell. However, this was nothing compared to the cracks from each hit. When the gun finally fell silent, everyone observing the test was glad for the sudden quiet. General Richard O'Connor stepped out from behind the wall and grinned savagely. An engineer was already disconnecting power to the weapon to ensure it didn't go off as others inspected the armor. It had held up against over a thousand rounds before penetration occurred, though the sheer force of so many bullets hitting a human being would have long shattered bones and caused internal damage. Still, that wasn't the point of this test. O'Connor walked over to the engineers and joined them in examining the armor.

"It held up quite well, sir," one said. "The polarization managed to nullify much of the kinetic energy, but it wasn't enough to completely dissipate them."

"Short of some kind of forcefield, I doubt anything could have completely absorbed that much firepower," O'Connor commented dryly. "Still, this is promising. If we can apply it to our armor, small arms fire will be much less effective against my troops."

"Sir, even this test sample was incredibly expensive to create," another engineer reminded him. "I highly doubt we could mass produce this."

O'Connor smiled again. Few other cells would have subordinates so willing to speak their minds. That was their loss, as crucial pieces of information often went missing as a result. He felt the armor and ran his hand along the holes. With gloves on, he couldn't feel the actual material, but touching the metal still helped make it more real to him. While it was true that this technology was far too expensive to deploy on a wide scale, that didn't mean it wouldn't be useful. Certain things could always use more protection, and a few of his elite units would certainly make use of any tactical advantages the armor afforded. He just needed to have enough of the armor to actually make a difference instead of using them piecemeal.

"Are we ready to move onto the next phase of testing?" O'Connor asked.

The engineers conferred with each other, suggesting possible issues and dismissing most of them. Most of them.

"There is something we feel needs to be addressed, sir," Aleksey Krukov, his lead engineer, replied. "The armor, while impressive, does have a fundamental weakness. We've embedded conductive material throughout the armor to try and negate this, but if somehow the current is disrupted by a lucky shot, then the entire EM field would fail and it becomes no more effective than conventional body armor."

"And the chances that someone would get such a lucky shot?"

Krukov swallowed. "In our testing, we've seen 19 of our samples fail in this manner. That's better than the 34 failure rate in the first test samples, but still extremely high."

O'Connor considered Krukov's assessment. That meant about one in five shots run the risk of taking out the EM field, which would eliminate the extra protection the armor was supposed to provide. After that, it would be no better than the regular armor used by any other infantry. And here was the problem. If they were actually going to deploy this armor, it had to have a very low rate of failure. Otherwise the costs would far outweigh the benefits. So they had to get this right the first time around.

"Your suggestions?" he asked.

"We need more flexibility with the weight limit," Krukov said immediately.

When the project was first started, O'Connor had been adamant about limiting the increase of the armor's weight. His engineers and scientists had balked at his restrictions, but O'Connor hadn't budged. They were developing this technology to be used, not to sit around and look at. If his soldiers couldn't even move while wearing it, what point was there in building it in the first place? Still, that didn't mean he would dismiss a reasonable request.

"Explain."

"We need to add more bracing and supports to the armor," said another engineer. "The micro-honeycomb structure we originally proposed was scrapped because of the weight it would have added, but the new carbon fibers offer an alternative. There will be some increase in the weight, but it shouldn't be anywhere as much as we originally projected."

"Define some increase," O'Connor said bluntly.

"Eight percent," Krukov answered.

Krukov kept his eyes on O'Connor, though with sunglasses on his superior was almost impossible to read. The original deviation limit O'Connor had set was 3, something which drove his engineers and scientists up the wall every time they wanted to change or add something. It also explained why the armor was so expensive, with all the experimental composites used.

"Eight percent," O'Connor repeated and thought it over. "Tell you what, I'll let this slide, if you can get that damn exoskeleton project back on target."

Krukov bit back a groan and simply nodded. O'Connor was a demanding man, but he demanded the best, not the impossible. The exoskeleton was one of several projects underway, all designed to make the ordinary infantryman more lethal. If even one succeeded, then the effectiveness of O'Connor's soldiers would be significantly increased. If they all succeeded, O'Connor would be in a position to seek leadership of the Brotherhood for himself. Whether this was his intention Krukov did not know and did not ask.

Leaving his engineers to work out the challenge, O'Connor headed back to the city. Makhachkala, like much of southern Russia, remained a Brotherhood stronghold. Though GDI maintained a heavy presence in cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, they stayed out of the southern parts of the country. Just as well for O'Connor and his facilities. As he climbed into the large hummer, an aide handed him a binder. He'd already been through the contents nearly a dozen times, but candidate selection required a fair amount of attention and detail. The fifty-eight potentials had already undergone heavy scrutiny, first regarding their loyalties and second regarding their abilities. If a soldier was fanatically loyal but couldn't hit something at point blank range, then their loyalty meant little. One did not kill the enemy through blinding fanaticism alone. And if the soldier could hit a target a thousand meters away but you couldn't be sure of their loyalty, then you couldn't very well give them the gun to begin with. Those that survived this scrutiny would be given an opportunity to demonstrate their skill and their dedication. Whoever survived that baptism would stand as one of the elite.

As the hummer rolled through the streets, O'Connor examined each profile once more. Like all candidate pools, one in particular stood out. When he had first seen the profile, O'Connor hadn't bothered to hide his surprise at seeing a nineteen year old amongst the candidates. People that age might as well be kids. They certainly weren't ready to fight a war, much less attract enough negative and positive attention to be sent to him. There was always the possibility that this one had been set up to fail, but instinct told O'Connor that this Kilian Qatar would go far. Providing of course she survived.

The hummer came to a halt and O'Connor exited. Even here, he was out of uniform. When in urban environments, only an idiot would draw attention to himself by openly declaring his allegiance to GDI or Nod. The building he entered was just as nondescript. No visible guards, no sign of what might be going on inside. People valued their privacy here and tinted windows were quite common. Though one of the larger structures of the city, few people heeded its presence. These days, most followed a live and let live policy. Those who didn't were usually GDI sympathizers or spies and were dealt with accordingly.

The main lobby was fairly spartan. A simple desk was by the door to receive visitors, turning away those who should not be here. No one at the desk or the various couches and chairs gave O'Connor more than a passing glance before going back to looking occupied. None paid heed to the fact O'Connor kept his sunglasses and gloves on indoors. They were all used to their commanding officer's habits. The elevator doors opened and O'Connor disappeared from the lobby. His passing no more marked than his coming.

On the third floor of the building, a massive hall was filled with a diverse range of people. They had been standing at attention for half an hour now. Most were probably desperate to bend their knees a bit and stretch, but every single one of O'Connor's officers had remained immobile since assuming positions. No one dared move for fear of failing what they assumed was a test. No one except a certain candidate. O'Connor had long learned how to walk silently and thus made no noise as he entered the doorway. He noticed a candidate in the middle of one of the rows slowly moving his legs back and forth, even twisting his neck. Or was it a her? The shape of the body seemed to indicate a woman. O'Connor allowed himself a satisfied grin. At least someone here was showing some initiative. But that person would need to learn some discipline and control as well. O'Connor let his boots sound against the floor and felt the atmosphere tense.

"Attention!"

The order from one of the officers immediately saw all the candidates obey. With hands at their sides and legs together, their muscles tightened and waited for further instructions. O'Connor walked up to the front of the formation and turned to face the candidates.

"At ease," he said calmly.

Though the men and women assumed the stance, none of them looked at ease. O'Connor glanced at the individual who had had the gall to stretch and confirmed his earlier assessment. The candidate was indeed a woman, and was in fact Qatar. O'Connor made sure Qatar knew he was looking at her and saw her swallow nervously. Good, she could take a hint.

O'Connor then cast his gaze upon the rest of the candidates. "Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen, for making it this far without getting a bullet to the head, for you are all here for the same reason. You are here because you have demonstrated initiative, curiosity, but most of all, you have demonstrated a willingness to question your superiors. That by itself would have been sufficient for you to be reported as a liability and be terminated as a potential risk. The reason that you have not is because of the former two attributes, for it shows you have a certain amount of promise, and that your insubordination was not rooted in disloyalty.

"These qualities also mean you have the potential to be more than cannon fodder, that perhaps you can become true warriors, not savages that run around with a false sense of superiority. After all, when you're dead, you're of no use to me or the Brotherhood. It's when you're alive that you can fight. And if you are to die, then make sure your death means something, for otherwise you are a disgrace. A disgrace to the Order, and a disgrace to your fellow comrades. But there is one crime even greater than wasting your life, and that is wasting the lives of your brothers and sisters. When you die, you can be replaced. But when you cause the deaths of your comrades, then you have cost the Brotherhood that which makes up its lifeblood.

"When you are here, under my command, you will follow my rules. You will obey my orders. And most of all, you will learn my code and live by it, or else you will die. For if you survive the next two months, you will have earned the right to call yourself a soldier. Until then, you're all fresh meat for the grinder. Remember that."

With that closing statement, the lead officer called the candidates to attention and, to their surprise, offered O'Connor a standard military salute before dismissing them. O'Connor watched the candidates file out, none daring to make eye contact with him or look anywhere except where the officers were facing. For the next two weeks, O'Connor's trainers would be instilling the fear of God into them. Then maybe, just maybe, they would absorb the knowledge they'd need to survive the fires that would mold and shape them.

The formality of welcoming the candidates complete, O'Connor returned to the elevator and took it down. He passed the lobby and continued on for several seconds before entering a small bunker. But even this was a mere transit point. To hide a massive base in a city was feasible, but too risky. Too many people came and went and one couldn't be sure what allegiance every single one held. Yet the city did provide excellent camouflage for small outposts. And the tunnel that had been dug was far below any utility or transportation line so discovery was unlikely.

With mag-levs, the distance between the city and the mountains south became almost trivial. A mere twenty minutes later O'Connor stepped off the train and entered a vastly different complex. Where the building in Makhachkala was spartan and revealed nothing of who owned it, this facility proudly declared the allegiance of those that lived and worked here. A massive Nod flag hung vertically above the steps leaving the station. As O'Connor climbed them, the soldiers on duty snapped off salutes and he returned them. Taking off his glove, O'Connor placed a hand on a reader and a set of massive doors slid open. A hint of green flashed before he replaced the glove. He entered the hallway and peered through the glass walls. Below was the heart of his mini-kingdom within Nod, a massive command and control center that coordinated forces from Poland to Siberia. His theater of command was vast and by all rights O'Connor commanded enough power to rival Hassan, whatever outsiders might think. But that power was not needed, not yet.

O'Connor entered his office and the walls turned transparent, though only from his side. As he sat down, the monitor beeped and one of his officers appeared.

"Sir, General Slavik asked to speak with you at your earliest convenience. Shall I arrange a connection now?"

"Go ahead," O'Connor replied and shuffled through his papers as he waited.

The face that appeared was often described as fierce and predatory, yet O'Connor never had any reason to fear the owner. As one of the oldest living leaders within the Brotherhood, he'd actually watched one Anton Slavik rise through the ranks and even acted as a mentor at times. Perhaps this was why Slavik was always respectful when addressing O'Connor.

"General."

"Slavik."

The greetings were brief but with that formality out of the way, the real conversation could begin.

"Hassan's been making some disturbing moves," Slavik said bluntly. "He's questioned the loyalty of several of my best commanders and other officers known to be loyal to me."

"And you think it's all in preparation for a move against you," O'Connor stated.

"It's a familiar pattern," Slavik conceded.

O'Connor offered a grin as he adjusted his sunglasses. "While I usually don't think much of such paranoia, you might be onto something. Your disagreements with Hassan might have pushed the man into deciding to remove you as a threat."

"If he tries, it'll be the perfect excuse I need to eliminate him," Slavik said. "The Brotherhood's become weak while under his rule. We have not launched a major attack against GDI for nearly five years."

"Be that as it may, the Black Hand alone won't be enough for you to defeat Hassan. Besides his elite guards, Hassan does command the loyalty of the majority of the Brotherhood."

"Including yours?"

O'Connor smiled. "My loyalties are to Nod, not to any one man. However, that does not mean I will help you preemptively execute a coup."

Slavik's own grin was far more savage. "Sometimes I wonder, General, how you managed to survive so long in the Brotherhood."

"By being careful, Slavik. Now, there are things you can do to prepare for any move against you."

"Enlisting your aid is one of them."

"I make no promises," O'Connor replied. "If Hassan were to move against you, I may not be in any position to help you. It would take days for my troops to arrive in Egypt, and even then they wouldn't be enough to face off all the troops stationed there."

"I believe Marzaq can be swayed to our side," Slavik said. "As I command the Black Hand, we will easily be able to outmaneuver Hassan."

"Something tells me you're going to remove Hassan whether he moves against you or not."

Slavik grinned, not bothering to deny the statement. "You already know my disagreements with Hassan. The Brotherhood is stagnating. We need new leadership in order to survive the next decade and regain our rightful place."

"Or old leadership," O'Connor muttered. "Be that as it may, the precedent you'd be establishing is very dangerous. While there have been some major incidents of infighting, by and large the Brotherhood has always sided with its more or less legitimate leaders. At this time, that leader is Hassan, despite his apparent incompetence. If you were to succeed in removing him by force, it might result in a feeding frenzy. Who knows who'll try to eliminate you? Marzaq would be itching to try after seeing you succeed."

Slavik grimaced and nodded. "I see your point."

"And," O'Connor continued before Slavik could say more, "if you continue to kill those that may become a threat to you, you ultimately eliminate those that are also useful to you. A wasteful course of action and one that also undermines morale and confidence in you by the more capable officers under your command."

"You'll never stop lecturing me, will you?"

"Why should I stop? I remain your mentor despite anything you believe you've learned."

"Duly noted," said Slavik. "However, back on the subject at hand. You've said that you won't help me preemptively launch a coup. Am I to wait for Hassan to make the first move?"

"From what you've said, I would think he's already begun moving," said O'Connor. "And unlike those western bureaucrats, I don't use the excuse of 'it might provoke the other side' to defer preparations."

"I have made preparations," said Slavik. "The question now is will you support me as the legitimate leader of Nod?"

"You are the legitimate _heir_ to Nod were Hassan to fall," O'Connor replied. "If he were to move against you and you were to win, then you would have my full support. However, unless I am convinced that Hassan has failed in his duty as the leader of the Brotherhood, I will not partake in a civil war."

"What would it take to convince you, if Hassan's current ineptitude will not?"

"His reaction to you fighting back," said O'Connor. "As long as Hassan can keep the Brotherhood nominally united, he remains useful as a leader. But if the crack widens and you demonstrate his inability to command Nod, he will have failed and I will then gladly assist in removing him from power."

"So you'll wait until I already have the Brotherhood under my banner? That doesn't seem like you, General."

O'Connor snorted. "You don't need the Brotherhood under your banner. I just need to see whether the rest of the Brotherhood obeys Hassan. If they're hesitant, that'll be enough. As such, your job is to convince the rest of the Brotherhood to abandon Hassan, not necessarily join you. The rest will likely fall in line once the other major factions accept your leadership."

"And what if Hassan asks you to support him?"

"I will state that I had better not be the first person he's asking for help from," O'Connor said bluntly, "for that by itself would signify his ineptitude."

An eyebrow rose. "And Hassan would allow you to get away with such a statement were I to fail?"

"Hassan is welcome to try and exert his will," said O'Connor.

Slavik didn't bother pressing for an explanation, but whatever O'Connor had that allowed him to defy the de facto Nod leader would be something he himself would need to watch out for.

"You called for assurances," said O'Connor. "As I said, I cannot give you any. What you come away with is the confidence that I will not help Hassan rally the Brotherhood against you."

"Didn't you once tell me, if my mother says she loves me, confirm it?"

O'Connor chuckled. "So you did learn something from me after all. You'll confirm it when and if Hassan is brave enough to move against you. Now I suggest you attend to your other preparations."

The image blinked out, leaving Slavik to contemplate O'Connor's words. He'd known going in O'Connor would never support a preemptive move, though it was not because of fear or indecision. O'Connor had demonstrated a ruthlessness that made Slavik cringe at times. Still, Slavik knew that having O'Connor stay out of the fight was concession enough. With one matter settled, Slavik could move onto other problems.

"Lieutenant, what's the status of our troop withdrawals?"

"Proceeding according to schedule, sir," Lieutenant Nikolai replied.

"Good. I want them thoroughly entrenched and ready to fend off any attempts to disarm them. They are not to obey any stand-down orders from other factions."

"Yes sir. Sir, are you sure that's wise?"

"Don't test my patience, Lieutenant. Carry out your orders."

"Yes sir," the man said softly.

Slavik continued staring at the man's back and sneered. Nikolai was proving to be pathetically spineless despite being in the Black Hand for years. Perhaps the time had come for him to be replaced. Slavik stopped himself mid-thought. He had been prepared to execute Nikolai, and the tendency to draw blood so quickly was unbecoming. No. If someone were to die, their death had to make a point. Shooting a coward served no purpose unless that cowardice turned to treason. No, cowardice by itself did not earn the man a bullet.

"I'll be in my quarters," Slavik said. "Do not disturb me unless it is urgent."

The various officers acknowledged his order as he stepped out. There were some things even the officers here were not privy to. Once Slavik was sure his room was secure, he activated his private terminal. Even through this, he wasn't foolish enough to establish a direct connection. Slavik accessed the darknet and reviewed the message forum. It seemed odd to use such a primitive form of communication to pass along orders, yet it served its purpose well. The simpler the method, the easier to encrypt.

New posts reported the success or failure of various missions. Others passed along information that might be useful in the future. Slavik scanned the messages for ones from one of his deep agents. Few knew this agent existed and the agent rarely provided groundbreaking intelligence. However, this agent served a different purpose and was a long term investment. One did not make use of such an asset unless the payoff was worth it.

Propaganda worked both ways. It might tell the masses what you wanted them to think, but it also revealed what you were concerned about. The latest feeds from the Nod pirate channels Hassan controlled were extolling the loyalty and faith of his followers. GDI was mentioned with the usual disdain and snideness, but the broadcasts had taken on a different character recently. That combined with some of Hassan's statements about Slavik's followers were what triggered his alarm. By now, Hassan was most definitely already making his move. Slavik was playing catchup, but he'd been planning to oust Hassan for years now. It was a simple matter to begin implementing those plans.

The Black Hand was not a large force. Its members made up only a small fraction of the Brotherhood, but they were some of the best armed and trained soldiers there were. The fact that they were trained placed them above much of the rabble. Hassan, like all the other major warlords, also maintained his own elite guards. However, Slavik was confident his forces would slaughter Hassan's in open battle.

From the report, it appeared as if Hassan was preparing another wave of propaganda to garner support. His instincts told him to strike now, while Hassan was still marshaling his forces. Or was Hassan ready to strike and just tying up some loose ends? Well, even loose ends could unravel an entire plot. Only time would tell.

Caucus Mountains

1200 Local Time

April 18, 2030

O'Connor was working late again. Some would describe him as an insomniac, others might call him a workaholic, but the truth was, sleep had long been only a minor concern for his rather unique physiology. When one didn't really need more than an hour or so of sleep, what was the point in wasting all that extra time? Perhaps it was fortunate he kept such odd hours as a lieutenant knocked frantically on his door.

"Enter," O'Connor said without looking up.

"Sir, General Hassan has just announced the arrest of General Slavik!"

O'Connor blinked. His self-control, one of his more valued assets, nearly slipped. However, he caught himself and signaled for the lieutenant to explain.

"General Hassan is broadcasting this announcement right now on his propaganda channel. We're also receiving reports that he's demanding all cells reaffirm their loyalty to him or risk being considered co-conspirators of Slavik."

"What exactly as he accused Slavik of?" O'Connor asked.

"Sir, he's accusing Slavik of being a GDI spy."

The lieutenant had no need to say more. The accusation sounded absolutely absurd considering who it was being levied against. If Hassan was trying to pull off the big lie tactic, he was either extremely desperate or insanely brave. O'Connor was for the former.

"Has Hassan offered any evidence?"

The lieutenant swallowed. "That's the strange part. General Hassan has attached what appears to be rather extensive and thorough evidence supporting his claims."

That was a surprise. O'Connor felt an eyebrow rise but quickly composed himself once more.

"Continue reviewing the data. I want a general overview within the hour and a full analysis as quickly as possible."

"Yes sir. And sir, what should we do if General Hassan demands a response from us directly?"

"Tell him I will not rush myself just because he does not wish for me to have enough time to find holes in the evidence against Slavik."

The lieutenant nodded. "Yes sir."

The implication of O'Connor's response was clear. He believed Slavik was innocent and had thus set himself against Hassan. Though the fact Slavik had gotten himself captured was disturbing. O'Connor turned on the television and switched to the Nod propaganda channel. Hassan's face filed the screen and O'Connor shook his head. The North African always did think he had an imposing presence.

"With the arrest of the traitor, we have eliminated a cancer from the Brotherhood. The evidence is incontrovertible and reveals that the traitor passed on to GDI extensive information about our forces, our strongholds, and many other vital secrets."

He'd heard enough. O'Connor terminated the feed and considered his options. He doubted Slavik had been careless enough to be captured so easily. That suggested a traitor within the Black Hand, but who? If worse came to worse, he could retake command of the Black Hand and unite the Brotherhood himself. However, that was a distasteful option. Control of the Brotherhood had its own dangers. Only one man could successfully unite the Brotherhood and do so without question. Maybe it was time to consider the _that_ alternative. O'Connor grimaced. It seemed a conflict was inevitable. Standing, he looked out the office and down at the command center. There seemed to almost be a spring in their steps, as if this crisis was serving as a catalyst. Well, maybe this war may indeed server a greater purpose. After all, an olive branch was only useful when sharpened to the point of a spear.

End Prologue

As Bird of Prey is winding down, I decided to start this project. This story will be more Nod-centric for the beginning, since I have to get Slavik set up. After that, we'll see more of GDI. Anyways, this is basically my retelling of Tiberian Sun and Firestorm. I'm going for consistency, a certain amount of believability, but also a certain amount of originality. I pulled it off in Bird of Prey and I'll try to pull it off here, this time looking into the internal structures of GDI and Nod. My earlier C&C stories can be considered prototypes for this. So, enjoy and review.

Z98


	2. Chapter 1

Point of a Spear

"_But courage which goes against military expediency is stupidity,_

_or, if it is insisted upon by a commander, irresponsibility."_

_-General Erwin Rommel_

Chapter 1: Death and Rebirth

Caucus Mountains

1400 Local Time

April 22, 2030

"The evidence provided is thorough, detailed but not overly so, and extremely consistent," Colonel Lelanc stated. "We've found very little to suggest any of it is a fabrication and some of this would explain several compromised operations and cells over the past few years."

O'Connor rubbed his chin as he thought. "And you are sure Slavik would have had access to this information."

"Positive. Which raises questions of its own."

A grunt was O'Connor's response. Everyone here had a healthy suspicion of convenient solutions without any loose ends. Still, if this was a forgery, it was a hell of a job.

"What alternatives are there?" O'Connor asked.

The officers looked around at each other, not necessarily out of hesitation but simply because some really had no idea. Then, Colonel Aker raised his hand slightly. He needed no further permission to speak his mind.

"There is a possibility the evidence itself isn't forged, but altered. General Slavik may not be the true traitor. He may have been framed."

An uncomfortable silence settled in the room. Treason was not a light crime in any society. Within the Brotherhood, you were better off committing suicide than be put on trial for treason. But now the question was raised. Who else could have betrayed all this information, and who stood to gain the most from Slavik's fall? The answer to that question was also far too convenient, though much more satisfying.

"And thus we are left with a choice," said O'Connor. "Accept Anton Slavik as the traitor, move against Hassan, or wait."

Another pause served as an interlude before anyone else offered their opinion. Uncertainty was evident, but that didn't necessarily equate hesitation.

"Slavik is out of our reach," another colonel stated. "He is the determinant in this matter. If he can somehow extricate himself from captivity, then we'll have a firmer footing for future actions. We should wait and give him time to act."

"Agreed," said Lelanc. "Eliminating Hassan outright would tip our hand far too early. GDI and the other Nod cells all view us as a minor faction that conducts a large amount of R&D. If we suddenly toppled Hassan, that would change."

"So be it," said O'Connor. "We will wait to see whether Slavik can escape. But prepare our forces. We may need to begin deployment anyways. Now, onto other matters."

With the most pressing concern decided, O'Connor could now focus on running his own operations.

"Status on Projects Banshee and Chimera?"

"Chimera is on schedule," came the reply. "All that's left is to calibrate the warheads. We're still trying to refine the equations, but if we have to, we can use a brute force approach and just pack the missiles with Tiberium."

O'Connor nodded. He didn't really expect any problems from that project. Missile technology was fairly mature now, with thirty years for it to develop. However, Banshee was another matter. He turned to another officer.

"The plasma weaponry is fairly stable and reliable enough for use, though there are some risks of overload," the officer stated. "We think those can be overcome, even with the exotic nature of this technology. But the flight system is giving us a lot of trouble."

"As always," O'Connor muttered.

The officer nodded grimly. "Sorry, sir. The data we have is incredibly incomplete. Everything except the propulsion system is ready to go into full production."

"Which does us no good if the propulsion system doesn't work," O'Connor said. He was stating the obvious, but the frustration this project was causing was getting to all of them. O'Connor really couldn't blame the scientists working on the system. They were trying to navigate the laws of physics with no compass. "Well, I guess I'll have to check my frustration with that project. Dr. Clark, any progress on the alloy?"

The woman sighed and shook her head. "If I had more samples to work with, I could reverse engineer it. As it is, we only have a partial formula. We're going to need years to actually perfect it."

"Years which we don't have," O'Connor said dryly.

"I'm aware of that sir, but we really need more samples to do tests on. Testing for an object's composition usually requires destroying it and we can't get around that."

"Then we'll just have to get more of that alloy," O'Connor said. "Dr. Marko, progress on the database?"

The woman seated directly across from O'Connor grimaced. Like the other scientists, she wore the signature lab coat but under it a bodysuit kept her covered. She even wore a pair of gloves so only her head revealed any flesh.

"We've retrieved as much as we're going to. My team has tried dozens of algorithms, some we developed specifically for this task, but the database is simply too corrupted to retrieve any more meaningful data. If only we had the original."

O'Connor snorted. "The original might not do much good either. Did anything new turn up on the analysis of the retrieved data?"

"There was and I'll have a report for you by 1900."

"Alright," said O'Connor. "If there's nothing else? Then I'll require a demonstration of the plasma weaponry by next week. Dismissed."

Most of the officers and scientists hurried off back to work, but one lingered. Dr. Marko waited for the others to leave, some with glancing back knowingly. Once they were alone, she let out a sigh and leaned back.

"So," O'Connor said as he walked up to her. "Was there something you wanted to say in private? Or do?"

"You have a dirty mind," Marko replied. "Anyways, I just wanted to let you know we've finished analyzing the old Soviet archives. You were right. There was someone named Kane within the upper echelons. We think he was part of the NKVD, but we can't attribute an official position to him.

"Interesting. And when does he first appear?"

"Somewhere around 1945. But you knew all this already. Why'd you have us dig for this?"

"Consider it thoroughness. No photos, I presume?"

Marko snorted. "You wish. Anyways, combined with the analysis the Allies did after the war, we're fairly certain this Kane was one of Stalin's most trusted advisors. He may have influenced Stalin to start the war against Europe."

"An interesting theory. Well, that's another avenue of investigation exhausted."

"More like beaten to death," Marko retorted. "We're running out of leads here, Richard."

"Oh we have a lead," O'Connor replied. "You're just having trouble getting at it."

"That database is a lost cause."

"That database was pulled from the Tacitus before GDI forces overran Sarajevo. It's incomplete, yes, but it holds the secrets of Tiberium and possibly Kane in it."

"I know, but we've gotten as much as we could from it. Hell, your Banshee and Chimera projects are based off the data my team managed to retrieve from it," Marko said, looking accusingly at O'Conner.

"So is the new treatment we have for Tiberium poisoning," O'Connor countered. "If we find something useful, we'll use it."

Marko snorted. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But don't expect me to feel comfortable helping you design more weapons."

"I don't. I just ask that you trust me to use what knowledge you manage to retrieve wisely."

Moving behind her, O'Connor placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "Look, I know you joined me to find out the truth and you believed that what you investigated couldn't be applied militarily. But it's hard to limit knowledge to one specific field."

"That may be so, but I don't have to be happy about it."

"So you've said many times before. But have I done anything to make you lose faith in me?"

"No, not yet," Marko admitted, "but I'm still looking."

O'Connor chuckled. "Anything else? Was that what you were going to tell me in your report."

Marko shook her head. "My team found references to some kind of harvest operation in the future. Whether it'll happen within the next decade or the next century, we don't know. I thought you'd find it interesting."

"Interesting indeed. And disturbing."

"Well, that's all I've got," Marko said and stood. She straightened her jacket and walked towards the door.

"Sydney." O'Connor's voice made her pause. "Thanks for everything you've done."

Sydney 'Marko' sniffed. "You know, the worst thing is, I know you mean it."

With that, she made her exit before O'Connor could respond.

Nod Base in Egypt

0900 Local Time

May 5, 2030

"Ms Kristos," the Nod officer greeted her. "Welcome."

"Thank you," Oxanna Kristos replied, giving the man her best smile. Best to be seen as completely harmless, especially while in the spider's nest. "It's an honor to be given this assignment."

"Indeed it is." The officer looked back. "Is this your entire crew?"

Oxanna nodded. "The wonders of technology. The days of large camera crews are over."

"I see. Well, please come this way." The officer turned and led them down the corridor. "The execution won't be for another six hours so you and your crew will have some time to rest, if you wish. The officer's lounge is down there. You are more than welcome to make us of it."

The lecherous grin on the officer's face told Oxanna all she wanted to know about why she was welcome. She returned a smile of her own, hiding the sense of disgust she felt. The Brotherhood had grown decadent and weak over the years. Without strong leadership, they continued to stagnate. Hassan had seen to this and now threatened to kill the last of Kane's true followers. But the Black Hand wasn't going to sit around while their leader was being held.

The officer came to a stop in front of another door. "Here we are. These quarters have been reserved for you. Your crew will be across the hall."

"Thank you."

After giving her one last look, the officer nodded and left them. Oxanna nodded to her crew and entered her room. It was rather spacious, filled with lush furnishings. Decadent indeed. However, she had work to do. There were definitely cameras in this room, probably even in the bathroom. Sneaking in weapons was pointless, especially with an entire armory at their disposal. In another hour, she would head to the officer's lounge and make contact with her inside man. Then she could spring the little surprise at the execution.

With time to kill, Oxanna decided a quick bath was in order. Modesty didn't hold her back. Life in the Brotherhood was harsh and an eye was kept on almost everyone. She'd give her watchers a little show. It was an appropriate send off before they died.

Caucus Mountains

1100 Local Time

May 5, 2030

A noticeable tension was in the air. O'Connor sat at his desk, reviewing troop deployments and other logistical matters. Everyone knew the Brotherhood was about to be plunged into civil war. Hassan would lead one side, but no one was exactly sure who would lead the other. Some of O'Connor's men felt he should lead, but he preferred Slavik get out of this mess and take the banner himself. It was surprising how long it took Hassan to get around to executing Slavik. The latest report indicated the Black Hand operatives had infiltrated successfully. With the execution another five hours away, all they could do was wait. Hassan had been hitting the propaganda rather hard the entire day. While his men monitored the transmissions constantly, O'Connor had better things to do than listen to that prattle.

The screen blinked and a lieutenant appeared. "S-sir, I think you should see this."

"What, did Hassan start making sense?"

"Uh, no sir. We're receiving a transmission from the outside. And sir, it's him."

O'Connor blinked. "Slavik?"

The lieutenant swallowed. "No sir. It's _him._"

The emphasis made O'Connor blink again. "Put him on."

The face that appeared was partially covered by a metal mask, but only a fool would have failed to recognize it. "I must say, your security protocols are quite impressive. It took me quite some time to route a message deep enough in to make sure you would get it."

"Kane."

The visible half of his mouth turned upwards into a sly grin. "General O'Connor. Not only have you survived, you've continued to advance my work even without my guidance. I was right about you."

"I serve the Brotherhood," O'Connor stated.

"And you have done much for the last thirty years. But we are now at a crucial point. I have been following the events of the past few years and the time is ripe for Nod to rise once more."

"But first the Brotherhood must be reunited," O'Connor said.

"Something which you've been striving towards and succeeding," said Kane. "I have confidence that you will succeed."

"At the moment, Anton Slavik is leader of the Black Hand and your heir apparent."

An eyebrow rose. "Your protégé as well, no? Very well, we'll see if he can survive the day. If so, he will have a chance to prove his worthiness."

"Sir, wouldn't knowledge of your return achieve the same end with less bloodshed?"

"That would leave too many of the weak alive," Kane replied. "We must cull the unworthy from the flock in preparation for the true conflict against GDI."

Grimacing, O'Connor could only nod. "If I may, sir, where are you?"

"Now General, I can't reveal all my secrets just yet," Kane said, smirking. "But do not worry. I will remain in contact. You can use this line to communicate with me, providing the matter is urgent enough."

Without further ado, the link terminated. The screen barely had time to go blank before O'Connor called up the lieutenant.

"Was the trace successful?"

The lieutenant swallowed. "The transmission was being relayed through servers around the world, sir. We got as far as the Suez mainframe before it ended."

"Estimated hops left between Suez and his location?"

A pause. "Estimate is at three, sir."

"Alright. Get Dr. Marko up here and have the recording split into image stills and audio samples."

"Yes sir."

While waiting for Marko, O'Connor played the recorded conversation. The voice, the mannerism, even that bloody grin were hauntingly familiar. He'd theorized that Kane survived the ion cannon strike, though deep down he always hoped to be proven wrong. Marko had certainly worked hard to do so, to no avail it seemed. The replay ended just as she walked in.

"What's this about?" she asked. "That lieutenant seemed uncharacteristically jumpy."

Without a word, O'Connor hit play and let the replay speak for itself. He had the satisfaction of watching Marko's jaw drop as she could only stare at the playback. When it finished, she took a few more moments to recover.

"What the fuck!?"

"I'll want a full vocal and facial recognition analysis," O'Connor said. "You have plenty of samples from the archives. Also, try to determine what he's hiding under that mask. It looks like burn marks. If they are, that suggests he's been regenerating since the ion cannon strike."

"My God," Marko muttered. "You were right."

"Unfortunately, yes. It seems we'll soon be very busy."

Marko swallowed nervously and glanced at O'Connor. He returned the look with a reassuring smile. "No need to worry. I have no intention of letting any harm befall you."

"I'm sure," Marko said dryly. "So, a new war is going to start?"

"I can't imagine any other outcome."

Biting her lower lip, Marko looked down at O'Connor. "You could try killing him."

"As you can see," O'Connor said, waving at the image of Kane, "that's not a permanent enough solution. We must be patient. After all, we almost certainly have several more decades ahead of us."

"Nothing is ever certain," Marko spat. "Especially not with Tiberium."

"Be that as it may, we still have time. However, it wouldn't do to waste it. Get me the analysis as quickly as possible."

Though Marko looked sulky as she left, O'Connor knew she would do her job. There was an understanding between the two. To find the truth, they needed each other. And if that wasn't enough, they shared another link that went even deeper. They might well be the Adam and Eve of a new species.

Nod Base in Egypt

1400 Local Time

May 5, 2030

With only one hour left, Oxanna felt the increased pressure in her chest. Her contact had yet to reveal himself and she would need to be going soon. Looking around the lounge, she caught plenty of men stealing glances of her, but none appeared to be giving the proper signal. This was bad. None of her operatives were armed because they were counting on getting weapons once inside Hassan's stronghold. Just when she would have been forced to leave to prepare for the broadcast, a Nod soldier entered the lounge.

"Ms Kristos?"

Oxanna's head snapped over and gave the soldier a look. He motioned for her to follow.

"Please, come this way. We're ready to set up for your broadcast."

Giving the man her best smile, Oxanna followed. "Thank you."

Once the doors closed behind them and they were far enough, the man moved closer. "Apologies for being late. There's been a new development."

"Is something wrong?" Oxanna asked, looking nonchalant. Masking her emotions was something she learned long ago.

"On the contrary. The Montauk has been retaken and is en route. We've also secured weapons for your team. Here."

The rest of Oxanna's team was already present in the side room. Though only four total were present here, Oxanna knew of at least one other cell ready to act when the time came. Too bad they no longer had large, bulky cameras that could be used to hide weapons. Each one was handed a P99 pistol. Small enough to hide in their satchels, but effective enough to take out any guards they might encounter. After making sure it was loaded, Oxanna stashed it away and nodded.

"The antitoxin?"

"Right here."

The soldier took out two syringes and handed them to Oxanna. She looked them over and hid them carefully.

"Then let's get going. If we fail, the Brotherhood may very well fall."

The others nodded solemnly. A few minutes later, they were outside the execution room. Slavik was already strapped in but remained defiant. When he saw Oxanna, the barest hint of a smile lifted the edge of his mouth. He quickly averted his gaze and looked once more at the clock. It was now 1455.

"Oxanna, we're on soon."

Making sure her hair wasn't ruffled, Oxanna put on her best camera smile. She still had a job to do. On a TV in the room, she watched the anchor for Hassan's propaganda broadcast spew out more nonsense.

"Good evening. By permission from General Hassan himself, it is with great honor that we bring you the following live execution. One vision, one future, Oxanna?"

"One vision, one future, Maycheck," Oxanna replied.

"I can tell from all the virt-com traffic tonight that this termination is a special one."

"Yes, very special. I've been told the mixture this evening is one hundred percent toxic, with no sedative. If everything goes as planned, our traitor should remain fully conscious to the painful end."

"We'll keep our fingers crossed."

Oxanna touched her headset, listening to the message. "General Hassan has joined us."

The image of the North African general appeared on screens everywhere. Like many of Nod's upper echelons, Hassan enjoyed dramatics. Still, that didn't mean he had a flair for it.

"One vision, one future," Hassan proclaimed.

"The technology of peace," came the response from his gathered followers.

"Be seated," Hassan paused, giving people time to obey. "One death is not enough for Anton Slavik. For attempting to give our enemy our most vital secrets, the GDI spy should die a thousand times. In the name of Kane!"

"Kane lives in death!"

As the moments passed on, Oxanna felt her heart beat faster. She itched to spring into action, but they had to wait until the last moment or they'd be overrun by Hassan's loyalists.

Looking down, Hassan sneered at the man he was about to execute. "Sweet dreams, Slavik."

The Nod soldier hit the release and the toxin began flowing into Slavik. He locked eyes with Oxanna one last time before the poison began to take its effect. That's all the signal Oxanna needed to act. Her pistol was out and the soldier assigned to watch them was down before he could react. Her crew charged out, opening fire and downing two more guards. More guards appeared, but their helmets were off, marking them as Black Hand operatives. Oxanna led the charge and they burst into the execution chamber. A soldier ran at them but was gunned down quickly. Oxanna sliced open the restraints and immediately injected the antitoxin. Hopefully they were fast enough, but Slavik would be drowsy for a few minutes and unable to defend himself. They needed to get out of here.

Two of the soldiers took hold of him and carried Slavik out as others cleared the way. The firefight was getting worse. Hassan's forces were responding faster than Oxanna had anticipated. As more poured out, the Black Hand operatives found themselves pinned down. A cry and one of her comrades fell, an inevitable casualty of this battle. Gritting her teeth, Oxanna continued to fire. She was not about to give up. Suddenly, their attackers began falling as weapons fire caught them from the side. A few turned to face this new threat but fell moments later. Advancing cautiously, Oxanna looked around the corner to see over a dozen soldiers with their helmets off. They lowered their weapons when they saw her and motioned for them to get moving.

Not sure who they were, the Black Hand operatives closed cautiously. One of the soldiers came forward and nodded to Oxanna. "General O'Connor sends his regards."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Oxanna returned the nod. Apparently the Black Hand wasn't the only faction planning a rescue.

"Let's get moving. The Montauk is almost here."

With the Elite Cadre supporting them, the odds were shifted to their favor. Any remaining resistance was quickly overcome as they fought to the rail station. As expected, the Montauk was waiting and had eliminated all of the station guards. The team piled in and the massive tunneler took off. By now, Slavik was slowly coming to as he was laid down in the infirmary. A few minutes later, he was well enough sit up. Oxanna looked down at him and grinned.

"Dead and back, Commander. Dead and back."

Looking up, Slavik returned the grin, only his was more savage. It was time to exact his revenge. Once in a proper uniform, he walked to the command deck with Oxanna and two Black Hand soldiers following. When he emerged, one of the men at the helm stood. His eyes were panicked and his stance sloppy. He managed to offer a salute but even that seemed half-hearted.

"Sir. It's an honor to have you ba-"

Slavik didn't let him finish. The shot caught him mid sentence and he fell back.

"Traitor."

Once the body was dragged away, Oxanna took the man's place. Slavik settled into his old seat and let out a satisfied sigh. It was good to be back.

"CABAL, situation," Oxanna queried.

"A division of Hassan's elite guard is closing in on our position," the artificial intelligence reported. "The probability of a favorable outcome can be increased if we can return to your main base and engage the enemy as we move."

"Define favorable outcome, CABAL," Slavik asked.

"They all die."

The AI sounded almost enthusiastic about that prospect. Slavik couldn't help but admire the cold brutality CABAL seemed to display. "That'll do. Let's go. No man or structure stay standing."

The Montauk rolled onwards, away from Hassan's base. Giving chase underground would have been pointless, as a battle might cause a cave-in. The tunnels were far too valuable for either side to risk it. The battle would be fought above ground, or at the very least at points where the Montauk would stop for supplies. That didn't take long as the tunneler reached a Black Hand outpost. The few Black Hand squads onboard disembarked, ready to join their brothers for the battle ahead.

"Hassan's forces aren't wasting any time," Slavik remarked. "His advance teams are already waiting for us."

"Our forces are ready to fight," said Oxanna, "but we don't have the numbers to face them head on."

"Sir."

Looking over at the voice, Slavik nodded to the Elite Cadre officer that just entered the bridge.

"Permission to join the battle, sir."

A feral grin answered. "Permission granted."

The Cadre officer offered a military salute and left. Unlike much of the Brotherhood, the Elite Cadre was a disciplined fighting force with actual training and proper equipment. They would make a welcome addition to his own forces. Together, they would steamroll over Hassan's forces. Settling back, Slavik watched the tactical display. It seemed the battle had already begun.

The two Black Hand soldiers continued to run, luring Hassan's forces towards the outpost. Once they were close enough, the turrets appeared and beams cooked the advancing infantry. Hassan's troops cried out as the lasers burned holes in them, slicing off appendages before finishing them off. Charred corpses fell, the stink of burned flesh rising into the air. With the base secured, more soldiers poured out from the Hand of Nod.

"Sweep east and locate Hassan's forces," Slavik ordered, "but do not engage yet."

"Yes sir."

The buggy rolled out alone and took off. Its key advantage would be speed, quite suitable for scouting missions. The rest of the soldiers formed into squadrons, taking position around the base. It would be another half hour before the Montauk finished loading supplies. If they could last that long, they could escape.

Slavik watched the telemetry from the buggy reveal more about the surrounding area. Several enemy patrols were tagged and they would need to be dealt with. Suddenly, alarms went off and panicked voices shouted over the radio.

"APC! It's coming from below!"

Cursing, Slavik shifted over to the base. A subterranean APC surged up, kicking up dirt and dust. A brown cloud obscured it before a loud thud signaled it dropping level. Without waiting, the Black Hand and Cadre forces opened fire, peppering the unit. Shadows in the dust marked Hassan's troops unloading, but they weren't returning fire. Slavik saw why quickly.

"They're going after the harvester," Slavik shouted. "Cut them off!"

With a full load of Tiberium, the harvester was lumbering back to the base. The driver saw the enemy troops and tried to go into reverse, but the massive vehicle was unwieldy even when empty. Bullets splattered over the armor, forcing the operators to duck. Explosions suddenly knocked down two of the attackers. From behind, Black Hand soldiers charged forward, showering grenades on the enemy. Others opened fire, forcing Hassan's men to turn about. The skirmish was short but brutal. With no hope for escape, Hassan's men threw themselves forward, taking with them a few Black Hand soldiers.

"Careless," Slavik muttered.

It was true. Eight of Hassan's men dead for three of his. Even that loss ratio was unacceptable. Hassan could throw far more cannon fodder at him, while Slavik had only his core Black Hand for the time being. They needed to avoid further losses.

"Sir, Hassan's forces are advancing on our base," Oxanna said. "It seems our scout has set them off."

The battle view shifted again, this time showing the Cadre soldiers taking position. The gates were lowered for the incoming buggy but there was another in hot pursuit. The Cadre troops didn't wait. They opened fire on the second buggy, raining bullets on it. A wheel blew off and the vehicle spiraled out of control. It skidded towards the base but the Cadre troops didn't relent. They continued firing, with one launching a grenade from his rifle. The explosive smashed into the windshield and shattered it. The explosion rippled through the glass, creating a hail of shards. With all the overkill, the driver was long gone and the buggy slammed into the concrete wall.

"Commander, threat neutralized," the Cadre soldier reported. "Permission to begin hunting down the patrols?"

"Granted," Slavik said. "Proceed east. My men will sweep north. Rendezvous with them in quadrant 5,6."

"Yes sir."

The rest of the battle was almost routine. Taking advantage of terrain and numbers, the two groups systematically eliminated all of Hassan's scouts. By the time the troops had returned, the Montauk was ready to move on. While this was a victory, Slavik knew it was only the beginning. To topple Hassan, he needed more troops. It was time to rally the Brotherhood behind him.

G.D.S.S. Philadelphia

2200 GMT

May 5, 2030

General James Solomon gazed out of his office, a tired old face staring back at him in the glass window. Slavik's execution should have been concluded hours ago but Hassan had yet to make his report. That didn't bode well. GDI was still at a relatively low readiness status. So many years of relative peace made a sustained high alert impossible without a visible threat. With the current conflict a covert one, he was limited in how much resources could be committed. A beep interrupted Solomon's musing and he turned towards his console.

"Incoming transmission," EVA announced softly.

Solomon brought up the connection and Hassan's head appeared. The North African seemed extremely nervous, making Solomon's mood sour even more.

"I have trouble."

"Just tell me Slavik is dead," Solomon said, almost a plea against the inevitable.

"He escaped."

"You expect me to believe that?" Solomon scoffed. But he did believe it, and Solomon hated that fact.

"Framing him as one of your spies was a big mistake," Hassan tried to explain. "He had more support than we thought!"

"Then, cover it up and kill him. And Hassan, if he gains more power, you will become useless to us. And useless things have a way of disappearing."

Hassan swallowed but nodded. It wasn't like the Nod general had much of a choice. The connection broke and Solomon straightened slowly. He doubted Hassan could salvage the situation. If Menwell's worst case scenario played out, GDI needed to prepare for a resurgent Brotherhood ready and able to strike out once more. This couldn't be done openly and units currently standing down couldn't simply be reactivated. The General Assembly would raise hell if Solomon tried it. GDI would have to make use of already deployed forces and they would need an officer who was discreet. Solomon had the perfect candidate in mind.

"EVA, get me Brigadier General James William Langley."

"Establishing connection."

It took nearly ten minutes before Langley appeared on the monitor. Considering the time, Langley was likely either getting ready for bed and needed to change into something more suitable, or was pulling another all nighter and needed to make himself look presentable.

"General Solomon sir," Langley saluted.

"Good evening Will," Solomon greeted. "Hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"Nothing that I couldn't put off sir."

"Good," said Solomon. "I'm pulling you off of Mammoth."

Langley frowned. "Sir?"

"The project is about to go into final testing," said Solomon. "Most of your recommendations have been implemented and you've done your job. Now I need you for something else."

"Yes sir," Langley said, though he didn't completely hide the disappointment in his voice. He was the second highest ranking officer on the project and acted as a devil's advocate. His insistence on real world gains over theoretical advantages was the main reason Solomon placed him on the project.

"I need you to retake direct command of the Special Warfares Division in Europe," said Solomon. "Prepare them for rapid response to Nod movement."

Langley was sharp and Solomon could see the unasked questions in his eyes. Instead of voicing them, Langley replied, "Yes sir."

"And be discrete," said Solomon. "The last thing we need is for Nod to notice what we're doing."

"I see, sir."

"Get on the next flight to Paris," said Solomon. "EVA will forward you orders once you arrive. Good luck."

Langley saluted and the screen turned blank. While Langley wasn't an actual field commander, the outfit he had spent years building up was admirably suited to his current assignment. If things got out of control and a scalpel wasn't enough, Solomon had a hammer in reserve. Only time would tell if he needed to bring it out.

Libya

0900 Local Time

May 6, 2030

"I appreciate the support you've provided," Slavik said on the screen. "Without your troops, I admit, I might not be here."

"You're far to valuable to the Brotherhood to let die that easily," O'Connor replied, "but I must confess, I do have an ulterior motive for helping you."

An eyebrow rose. "And what might that be?"

"Because I have no intention of making myself a target. If I were to reunite the Brotherhood, I would draw GDI's attention. On the other hand, since they're already intent on killing you." O'Connor let the sentence hang.

"And you expect me to reunite the Brotherhood?"

O'Connor leaned forward. "I expect you to succeed because you have the backing of someone else. Now, how trusted is the line you're on?"

"Very," Slavik said immediately.

"And are you alone?"

Slavik nodded. "This requires that much security that you can't trust those closest to me?"

O'Connor said nothing and just looked at Slavik. The head of the Black Hand conceded the point and motioned for O'Connor to continue.

"I'm adding a third party to this conference," O'Connor said. "And try to act dignified."

"Dignified?"

Instead of answering, O'Connor tapped in a few commands and established the connection. A noticeable gasp could be heard from Slavik as he stared at the newcomer.

"General Slavik," Kane greeted. "I've heard a great deal about you over the years. I must say, I'm impressed."

"I live and breathe for the Brotherhood," said Slavik, "and for you."

"Your loyalty is without question and you obviously have talent. When you ascended to lead the Black Hand, you accepted the responsibility of keeping the Brotherhood true to my vision. Now show me you can shoulder that responsibility. Remove Hassan and you will stand by my side, part of my inner circle."

Slavik swallowed. "It would be the greatest honor to carry out your wish."

"See that you do."

The line terminated and Slavik seemed to collapse into his seat. He took a series of deep breaths and closed his eyes, trying to recapture the voice that had just spoken to him, the face that demanded his attention, and the eyes that pierced him. The mere presence of the man was overwhelming, even if it was a video feed.

"I suggest you get back to work."

O'Connor's voice shook Slavik back into reality and he nodded stiffly. With Kane watching, Slavik dared not fail. He would grind Hassan to dust and present Kane with a united Brotherhood for his return.

"How long have you been in contact with Kane?" Slavik asked.

"Since the day of your execution."

A lesser man might have claimed to be Kane's confidant, knowing exactly what the will of their leader was during his absence. Slavik accepted the statement with a nod.

"I await news of your success," O'Connor said and disappeared.

Taking a deep breath, Slavik stood. The next battle was about to begin. The propaganda feed Hassan broadcasted was playing as he stepped onto the bridge. The anchor was just finishing up a report on the tragic accident of a colleague.

"I hear you're dead Lieutenant," Slavik said as he entered. "Rest in peace."

Oxanna cracked a grin as CABAL's voice began. "The Brotherhood is in chaos. A strategic opportunity presents itself."

"They're desperate for a new leader," Oxanna stated.

"When we destroy the rest of Hassan's elite guard, the people will sway with us in the name of Kane," Slavik stated resolutely. And not just in his name, Slavik thought.

"Kane lives in death," Oxanna and the other officer intoned.

"We have reached the Benghazi border," the officer reported.

"The elite guard division we will engage is located here, on this island," CABAL said, marking the position on the overhead display.

Considering his options, Slavik settled on the quickest one. "Take the bridge and they're cut off. The island is a tomb."

"Shut down the enemy's power, and protect your own," CABAL advised.

"A large force is approaching from the south," said Oxanna. "Their directive is to protect the guard but I think they can be persuaded otherwise." The sly grin returned. "Coordinates, broadcast studio. Get me an engineer into that TV station, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Control the media, control the mind," CABAL concluded.

Slavik tilted his head. "Let's go."

The landscape of the Brotherhood was about to change. Soon, the usurper would be dead and Nod would stand behind their true leader once more.

End of Chapter 1

Just a note. I've played C&C3. I've beaten the entire campaign. I took note of the inconsistencies and errors. I'll respect their storyline in so much as it makes sense and doesn't conflict with that in Tiberian Sun and Firestorm.

I've always had the impression that Slavik coordinated his troops from the Montauk, rarely going out into the field like McNeil does. He's, dressed too neatly for it.


	3. Chapter 2

Point of a Spear

"_No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country._

_He won by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."_

_-General George Patton Jr_

Chapter 2: Palace Coup

Nod Broadcast Studio, Benghazi

1100 Local Time

May 6, 2030

"Head of GDI forces General Solomon is said to have become mentally unstable. T-"

Maycheck didn't get to finish as a shot interrupted him. His eyes glazed over and the man slumped to the side. Oxanna continued to smile as she put down the pistol.

"In other news, General Hassan's weak and impotent rule was overthrown today, when forces within the Brotherhood rose up to unite Nod under a new leader, Anton Slavik. Rescued from death by the spirit hand of Kane, has been vindicated of all crimes against the state. He steps forward now, to lead us Follow him, as you would follow Kane."

The camera went off and Slavik clapped slowly. Oxanna gave him an amused look as she walked over.

"A brilliant broadcast as always," Slavik complemented.

"I'm always brilliant before the camera."

"Not just before the camera," Slavik said before turning about. "CABAL, report any reactions you observe."

"Communications from Cairo indicate Hassan is attempting to call all Nod cells to his side," CABAL reported. "General O'Connor has already refused to follow his orders. General Marzaq's forces are remaining in position and not responding. Other cells seem to be in a state of confusion."

"So all major factions in this hemisphere have aligned against Hassan," Slavik stated. "CABAL, notify me when General Vega responds."

"Acknowledged."

"Lieutenant, walk with me."

The two left the studio and headed down the hall. Once alone, Slavik spoke.

"The Brotherhood has aligned against Hassan and many have rallied to us. However, Cairo is heavily fortified. Taking it will be extremely costly."

"Agreed," said Oxanna. "Hassan has been gathering the remnants of his elite guard. They will stand by him, if only because they fear what will happen to them should he fall."

"Perhaps they can be swayed," said Slavik. "If we can show them that the Brotherhood will accept them back, they'll hand Hassan to us."

"Are you sure they can be forgiven?"

"No," said Slavik. "At least not all of them. How long before O'Connor's reinforcements arrive?"

"A battalion will be joining us in three days."

"Then let's thin out Hassan's guard some more before we move on Cairo. CABAL, provide me with a list of targets for review."

"Acknowledged."

By the time the two were down in the Montauk, a map was on the display waiting for them.

"General, if I may make a recommendation," CABAL began. "We have become aware of a commander that is at odds with Hassan and been arrested. If we free him, he may have intelligence to assist us on the assault on Cairo. He would likely bring his forces over to our side as well."

"Eavesdropping on the lieutenant and I, CABAL?" Slavik asked, bemused.

"The better to fulfill your requests, of course."

An alarm went off and Oxanna rushed to her station. "We're detecting a GDI force approaching. ETA, fifteen minutes."

"Pull our troops out," Slavik ordered. "We need to conserve our strength for the time being. GDI can wait until Hassan is dead."

"Order conveyed. Our forces are going under."

"How long to set up another broadcast studio?" Slavik queried.

"Estimated time, fifteen hours," CABAL replied. "For a mobile broadcast studio, an additional ten hours will be required."

"Make it mobile," said Slavik. "Hassan was a fool to keep this station in one place for so long. It's a wonder GDI hasn't attacked it in the past."

"Perhaps not," said Oxanna. "Could Hassan have had some kind of arrangement with GDI?"

Slavik considered the thought but shook his head. "Hassan's a dead man either way. No need to make more excuses for executing him."

"If you say so."

Slavik paused. "Something on your mind, Lieutenant?"

Oxanna spun around to face Slavik. "If Hassan has truly betrayed the Brotherhood by aligning with GDI, he must be exposed for what he is. Then no one will question the legitimacy of your command."

"That legitimacy is already assured," said Slavik. "There's been a new development that changes everything. Have faith, Lieutenant. We're about to step into a new world."

"As you say," Oxanna conceded.

With that, the discussion ended and Oxanna went back to her duties. The Montauk rolled out, leaving the broadcast studio behind. Though useful, it had served its purpose and was expendable. After all, a place was just a place.

By the time the carryalls landed, the area was completely abandoned. Wolverines and infantry unloaded, along with a pair of Titans. They swept into the base, alert despite the wreckage

"Report," Langley said over the radio. Though he had an excellent vantage point from his Orca commandship, he still valued the insights of his groundside troops.

"Area seems clear, sir. No defenses to speak of, though it looks like some kind of battle took place."

"I see. Proceed with caution and watch for any traps."

"Yes sir. We're deploying a sensor array now."

More detailed imagery filled the display seconds later. There really didn't appear to be anything left. The Brotherhood had obviously detected their approach and cleared out beforehand, not even bothering to defend the studio. It seemed odd, as this studio was the source of a large amount of Nod propaganda. Another oddity was why GDI had left this station alone for so long. It was only when the studio began openly supporting Anton Slavik, rumored to be leader of the Black Hand, that Langley was given the order to take it out. That confirmed Langley's suspicion that rumors of infighting within the Brotherhood were true. General Solomon obviously regarded Slavik as more dangerous than Hassan.

"Status," Langley queried. They were deep in Nod territory for this operation and he wanted to get out as quickly as possible.

"We've recovered some harddrives from the studio, but they've likely been wiped."

"That'll do," said Langley. "Return to the dropships and let's get out of here."

"Yes sir."

On his console, Langley brought up the last propaganda broadcast. In theory blocked and banned by GDI, officers like him had access to it for intelligence purposes. The woman in it was stunningly beautiful, extremely photographic and thus a perfect spokeswoman. The way she calmly executed the former anchor belied a coldness under that pretty face. She was certainly not adverse to inflicting pain to achieve her objectives.

"EVA, profile on Oxanna Kristos," Langley said.

Another file opened next to the playback. Langley scanned the file, though he had read it many times before. Based on previous intelligence, GDI had labeled Kristos as an effective propagandist but nothing more. They had no reason to believe she was loyal to Anton Slavik, which suggested she was actually a member of the Black Hand. Langley shook his head. GDI too often was completely in the dark about the Black Hand. To truly break the Brotherhood, they needed to destroy the Black Hand. Too bad one couldn't shoot blind.

"Sir, all forces accounted for. We're ready to pull out."

"Understood. Get us out of here, Lieutenant."

"Aye sir."

Langley was tempted to send in his own analysis about Oxanna Kristos, but controlled himself. InOps seemed to be getting more and more territorial these days and probably wouldn't even look at it. Still, the implications were disturbing. If InOps had been so off on Kristos, who else within the Nod hierarchy had they underestimated? Unfortunately, Langley's security clearance wasn't high enough to access the profiles. Maybe Cortez or Khalid could pull some strings. Either way, Solomon's request suggested GDI knew something was going down. They needed to know all the players involved lest they get blindsided again.

Caucus Mountains

0900 Local Time

May 15, 2030

The crack from striking sticks filled the practice hall. Duels were being fought down the line as the trainees continued their lessons. The fifty-eight had been whittled down to thirty-five Eight had died from various accidents during training, with the rest washing out. Of those washing out, a few were deemed salvageable and would be indoctrinated into O'Connor's regular forces. So far, only one was executed for dereliction of duty. That candidate had caused the death of two others through carelessness and arrogance. O'Connor was not about to let that slide.

As he watched, O'Connor mentally noted those who appeared to have the most potential. And despite her age, Qatar was near the top of that list. O'Connor raised a hand and the head trainer blew his whistle, signaling the candidates to stop. They responded quickly and stood at attention once more. O'Connor walked to the center of the room and motioned for the candidates gather in a circle. Despite everything they had experienced a few still looked nervous, as if expecting some kind of surprise attack.

"One of you, step forward," O'Connor said.

Qatar didn't disappoint him. Her second foot was down before the others could even lift their first.

"Over here," O'Connor said, pointing to a spot before him.

Gripping her stick, Qatar walked over and waited for further instructions.

"Knock me down and you will graduate," O'Connor said.

Mutters and gasps sounded around them but O'Connor ignored them. He kept his focus on Qatar who, while still looking determined, also seemed confused.

"What's the catch, sir?"

"The catch is I might kill you if you don't put on a good show," O'Connor replied. "Now, begin."

Qatar realized immediately she could not back out of this. O'Connor had said nothing about her stick and she wasn't about to give up on a possible advantage. Twirling it, she began circling him. Before she could move, O'Connor charged and brought a roundhouse to bear. The foot came across almost perfectly horizontal and Qatar barely had time to bring her staff up to block. To her surprise, the wood snapped from the force of the kick and she staggered back. Using his momentum, O'Conner spun around and the heel of his foot slashed right across her face. Leaning back, Qatar dodged the second blow and retreated. O'Connor was moving unbelievingly fast and was launching his third attack just as Qatar found her footing.

Stiffening her arm, Qatar knocked aside his punch and launched one of her own. O'Connor caught it easily, pulling her forward by her wrist and landing a knee in her gut. Qatar cried out in pain but was cut off as O'Connor literally picked her up. She was thrown across the floor and landed with a thud, rolling to a stop. Staggering to her feet, blood dripped out of her mouth. O'Connor walked towards her calmly, picking up a piece from the broken staff. Qatar quickly scrambled to grab another one and faced him. Not waiting for O'Connor, she charged and tried to strike him with the stick. O'Connor blocked calmly when suddenly Qatar aimed a kick at his groin. The room seemed to inhale together as her foot came speeding up when suddenly O'Connor flipped into the air and flew over Qatar. When she turned to face him, O'Connor landed a back kick on her chest and sent her crashing back. She tumbled and lay there, trying to recover her breath.

To her surprise, O'Connor threw aside his stick and began clapping. The trainers soon joined in and before long the entire class was applauding her. Qatar wasn't sure why but didn't complain. She doubted she would have lasted much longer. Two trainers walked over and helped her to her feet.

"Have her checked out by the doctors. I might have broken a rib."

"Yes sir."

"You show promise, Kilian," O'Connor said before she was led off. "I look forward to seeing what you're capable of."

O'Connor turned and headed out and the trainers quickly started practice once more. The demonstration was a success, first impressing upon the candidates that O'Connor was as tough as he expected them to become, and second marking Kilian and pushing her to the edge. If she survived, he might have found his next project. Slavik was certainly living up to his expectations. Time would tell whether Qatar could do the same.

As O'Connor walked down the corridor, Marko appeared and joined him.

"The analysis on the recording," she said, handing him a tablet. "All are perfect matches. Though his inflections have changed somewhat, he seems to be a bit more empathic. And you were right, those scars are consistent with burn marks."

"What else?"

"We're fairly certain he's in an underground bunker," said Marko. "The equipment looks to be fairly old, possibly from near the end of the last war, yet he's still tied into the darknet."

"He is most likely in Africa," said O'Connor. "Most likely in the central region."

"What makes you say that?"

"Before all out war erupted between Nod and GDI in Europe, the Brotherhood seized control of much of Africa. There are records of a fairly large construction project in central Africa."

"And since the last location the trace was routed to was the Suez, you think he's in Africa?"

"There have always been rumors of hidden lines even in the darknet. We've mapped three such, but there's likely to be at least five others we don't know about. Finding them became much more difficult after Hassan moved into power."

"Did this transmission use any of them?"

O'Connor nodded. "While the darknet in this region was constructed under my supervision, the one in the Middle East is from the last war. The one there was used to connect to my network."

"And Kane would have access to all the hidden lines?"

"If anyone did, he would be the one. Has your team arrived at any other conclusions?"

"Nothing regarding Kane. There's a few test results I want to discuss with you regarding Tiberium's interactions with the genome, but that can wait until dinner."

"Then I'll see you at six."

With a nod Marko turned and headed back to her labs. O'Connor continued on his way and entered the command center. Even with his scientific endeavors, he remained a military man.

"Status on Baghdad," O'Connor queried.

"Resistance has collapsed and the local Nod forces have surrendered to us," an officer reported. "We have seized control of the northern oil fields and shut off the pipes supplying Hassan."

"Tehran?"

"No resistance," said another officer. "All Nod forces in that sector have acknowledged our authority."

"So we're on schedule," said O'Connor. "Good. How long before our forces reach the Israeli border?"

"The lead forces are approaching the border now, sir."

Looking at the map, O'Connor grimaced. In the sea of red, Israel stood out as a golden beacon. Its location had been a thorn in Nod's side for several decades, forcing Nod forces to go around or fight their way through. With strong backing from GDI, the Israelis were well armed and capable of mauling any regular Nod unit that tried to force their way in. Even Hassan's elite guard had suffered heavy losses in trying to open a land path into the Middle East. This was the weak point in O'Connor's schedule. It was also an excellent opportunity to test out his conventional forces against some of GDI's finest.

"GDI reactions?"

"There's a large force moving south to meet our forces."

"Still no word from the second force?"

"No sir."

O'Connor nodded. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, a rarity in battle plans. An outright engagement with GDI would slow down his forces pointlessly. Taking Cairo would be costly enough. For now, he needed to get his forces into Egypt. The campaign to take Israel could wait until after Hassan was dead.

"Sir, the GDI forces seem to be stopping."

O'Connor grinned. "Order our forces to move through as quickly as possible."

"Yes sir."

While the Brotherhood didn't have GDI's network of satellites, its real-time information network was still impressive. A tightly integrated darknet allowed Nod units to relay information to command posts hundreds of miles behind the lines and permitted commanders to conduct battles a similar distance away. However, O'Connor's second force was not on the grid right now so they were forced to infer what was happening. Considering the chaotic maneuvers GDI forces were doing, the plan was proceeding nicely.

"Sir, we're detecting command signals to a satellite in orbit," an officer shouted. "It's a known Ion Cannon platform!"

O'Connor grimaced. "What's the largest concentration of our forces?"

A pause. "Two armored companies, moving half a kilometer apart."

Approximately sixty tanks, O'Connor calculated mentally. An Ion strike would likely take out most of one company. Trying to shoot down the satellite would tip his hand too early.

"Sir, we're intercepting radio chatter between GDI air units," another officer reported. "It seems a fighter wing is moving in."

"The Israelis are really giving everything they've got," O'Connor commented. "Time before our main forces reach the Egyptian border?"

"ETA is forty minutes."

"And the GDI forces in Elat?"

"They seem to be holding position."

"Weather?"

A pause. "Cloud cover in parts of the region."

"Bring it up."

It wasn't real time, but the images showed sporadic cloud cover throughout the region. His own forces were marked and several of the larger units were obscured. In other words, the Ion Cannon was useless. Or was it?

"Do we know the composition of that air wing?"

"Umm, no sir. There have been no visual confirmations. We've only spotted them on radar, but they're definitely using some kind of countermeasure. We can't match the signatures."

"Do we have any airbases close by?"

"None within striking distance, and that's if the Israelis let us fly a squadron into their airspace."

"Likely target?"

"The two tank companies, sir."

O'Connor fell silent, reviewing his options. Taking out that air wing before they reached his forces was impossible, unless he wanted to reveal the full extent of his ballistic capabilities. There was no way to cloak his units, but did he really need something that elaborate to hide?

"Sir, the tanks are putting up a smokescreen!"

"Well, I suppose that decision has been taken out of my hands," said O'Connor.

The initiative taken by the field officer was commendable. Instead of just siting around, waiting for a decision to be made for him, he was actively pursuing solutions. A good man, all around. Now they needed to see if the smokescreen worked. The air units slowed, as if considering their next course of action. The smokescreen seemed to grow, signaling the dispersal of the armored units.

"The GDI squadron is turning around."

"They finally figured out we aren't here to fight them," O'Connor said. "Took them long enough. The Ion Cannon?"

"We're not detecting any activity or signals."

"What about the secondary force?"

"We have yet to receive confirmation that they've retreated."

O'Connor grimaced. That was a very large force of Stealth Tanks and losing too many would be extremely costly.

"Wait, sir, the secondary force just got back on the grid. They're reporting three units lost."

"Less than 10. Very well. We are moving to phase two of this campaign. Inform Slavik our forces are through and will take the Suez. After that, the assault on Cairo may begin."

"Yes sir."

Elite Guard Facility, Northern Egypt

1800 Local Time

May 17, 2030

"A frontal assault on that base would be suicidal with the forces we currently have," Slavik mused out loud. "We'll need to find a back door."

"And if one doesn't exist?" Oxanna asked.

"We make one," Slavik stated bluntly. "All units move southeast."

Various acknowledgments filtered back as the small strike team obeyed. Slavik watched their progress on the display, ever alert for any surprises. It wasn't long before a sandbag wall came into view. Through his interface, Slavik ordered his buggies forward. Their machine guns would make short work of the soldiers hiding behind.

"Sir, we're detecting some activity on the other side," Oxanna reported. "From the visuals, it appears a GDI Orca unit is parked over there."

Slavik frowned. "And the pilot?"

A pause. "There's indication of a firefight."

"Move in," Slavik ordered. "That Orca may be useful."

The two signals indicating Hassan's guards disappeared promptly and the Black Hand team moved in. Infantry climbed over the sandbags, continuing the advance while the bike started blowing holes to get through. As they advanced, Slavik got a clearer picture of what was going on.

"An Orca bomber," he said. "Interesting."

"Sir, the pilot!"

A GDI soldier was definitely making a break for it, being chased by Hassan's men.

"Ignore the pilot," Slavik said, taking a gamble. "Take out his pursers."

"Sir, is that wise?" Oxanna asked. "If that bomber is armed, it has enough firepower to wipe out our forces."

"Or the pilot could turn his weapons against Hassan's forces. Let's see just how intelligent that GDI pilot is."

With his attackers dead, the pilot made it to the bomber in no time and quickly strapped in. He had already noticed the Nod forces to the distance, but they had actually helped him and weren't giving chase. The bomber took off and began heading north, away from Slavik's men.

"All forces, proceed," Slavik said, once the Orca was away.

"Sir, we just heard an explosion," a soldier standing at the entrance to a tunnel reported. "And from what I can see, something just blew on the other side."

"Is the tunnel stable?"

"At this end, sir," the soldier replied, "but I can't be sure about the other side."

"Then I suggest you and your men hurry."

"Yes sir."

His troops didn't need any further encouragement. With the vehicles through the sandbags, they raced through the tunnel. Wreckage littered the other side but thankfully the tunnel itself appeared to have sustained no damage. From the debris, it looked like a Tick Tank had been blown apart.

"It seems saving that Orca pilot did serve our needs," Slavik said with a grin.

"There's a small outpost on the hill above," Oxanna said. "It's lightly defended and we think Hassan is keeping some of the prisoners there before he transfers them."

Slavik nodded. "A good place to start. We'll need more men before taking the main base."

Video streaming in from some of the helmets provided a clear picture of what they were dealing with. The base had little in the way of defense besides a single laser turret.

"Prepare to take out the guards the moment the turret is down," Slavik ordered. "Get the bike up there. Its missiles should have the range to take it out."

"Yes sir."

The infantry dispersed with the vehicles coming forward. At an unseen signal, the bike tore forward and launched a barrage of missiles. As the turret took aim, they smashed into it, blowing the laser off its mount and cracking the tower itself. The buggies wasted no time racing in, guns blazing. Elite Guard units responding to the explosions were quickly mowed down. Those that escaped harm soon faced another threat as the Black Hand infantry moved in. Shots from behind mowed them down just as the buggies skidded to a halt and swung around.

More soldiers poured out from the Hand of Nod but ended up running into fire from the buggies. Bodies littered the ground as the fighting died down. Their intelligence had been correct, the outpost was lightly defended.

"Find the prisoners," Slavik ordered, "and take control of the outpost."

"Yes sir."

The rest of the takeover went surprisingly smoothly. The prisoners were still in the trucks waiting to be unloaded. Most were more than ready to take revenge on Hassan's troops and rescue their commander. Still, it would take time for them to gear up, which was fine with Slavik. That time could be used for other matters.

"CABAL, have you interfaced with the outpost's systems?"

"Interface online," CABAL stated. "Downloading tactical data now. The main base is not aware of our presence, however, an hourly update is sent from the outpost."

"Time before next update?"

"Forty-three minutes."

"Then we'll need to hit the base before then. Any other useful information?"

"From the base schematics, I have determined that the rear of the prison complex is relatively unguarded. If your forces are able to cross the river, you will be able to launch a surprise attack."

Pulling up a map, Slavik looked for possible points to cross. Swimming was out of the question since they didn't have the equipment for their vehicles to ford over. However, there seemed to be another possibility.

"Continue scouting north," Slavik ordered. "There should be two bridges."

"Yes sir."

Several dots on the screen began moving north with the buggies in the lead. As the terrain data was updated, Slavik let out a curse.

"The bridge seems to have collapsed sir," a soldier reported.

"I can see that, private," Slavik seethed. "Continue north. The second bridge better be intact."

"Yes sir." This time the voice was noticeably more tense.

"It seems the the environment is changing the landscape faster than we can update the blasted maps," Slavik muttered.

"What if both bridges are down?" Oxanna asked.

"Then we might have to consider a frontal assault of some kind," said Slavik.

No one of the bridge of the Montauk made a sound as they waited for the telemetry. When the sight of an intact bridge appeared, the tension lifted. It wasn't so obvious as someone letting out a sigh of relief, as the people in here were too disciplined for that. Still, they'd make use of whatever made their job easier.

"Advance but do not alert Hassan's forces to our presence," Slavik ordered. "We need this commander alive."

"The bridge does not appear to be guarded," came the response. "We can see the wall perimeter, but there is no sign of any guards."

"Is there any high guard for you to see inside the base?"

"Moving now sir." A silence followed for several minutes before the radio crackled again. "Sending data now, sir. It appears the prison is located closer to the front of the base than the rear, with four laser turrets covering each corner of the structure."

"Interesting. So an attack from the rear would force us to fight to the prison and then disable its defenses. And we don't have enough manpower for a two pronged attack." No one said anything as Slavik thought things over. "We'll take the base from behind. Move our forces in."

"Yes sir."

With the freed prisoners joining his strike team, Slavik now had a fairly large force. However, it still wasn't large enough to take on an entire base. They needed to get in, take out the defenses around the holding area, and then escape with the commander alive. Doing that would require some finesse.

"Are there any perimeter sensors visible?" Slavik queried.

"There's a radar facility, sir, but I don't see any actual sensors."

"Good." On his console, Slavik marked two points along the rear perimeter wall and one of the turrets. "Place charges on the points and have some of your men scale the wall on the southern one. They need to be able to take out the designated turret and blow a hole for the prisoners to escape."

"Yes sir."

"Timing will be crucial, so the charges on the northern point must not be blow until our men are over the wall and have hidden themselves. The remaining forces are to pin down Hassan's forces and provide a distraction. Once the commander is secured, they are to escape by blowing the southern point. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly sir. We're moving out."

The soldiers began carrying out his orders and Slavik sat back to watch. That was all he could really do at this point. The infiltrating unit terminated their video feeds and beacons so Slavik had to watch their progress based on what his spotter could see. It took less than five minutes for the team to slip in and disappear into the base. Two minutes later, a single click sounded on the radio.

"Blow it."

Before he could finish, the northern site exploded. Concrete went flying into the base and smashed into anything in their way. Dust filled the air, obscuring the hole and anything around it, but that was no problem for Slavik's forces. As Hassan's guards moved to investigate, they were greeted by a hail of bullets. This of course drew even more enemy soldiers towards the hole and even the prison guards left their posts. They weren't gone long when one of the turrets exploded from the impact of three rockets. The prisoners, already out to see what the commotion was about, were quick to realize what was happening. Another rocket widened the hole left by the turret and they were soon streaming out.

By now Hassan's forces also figured out what was going on and moved to stop the escapees. They gunned them down mercilessly. They were quickly mobbed and skirmishes broke out. However, one man was not interested in fighting. He and a small cadre ran towards Slavik's forces and from the renewed video feed an identification was quickly made.

"Colonel Oberon," CABAL stated. "The objective."

"Blow the southern point," Slavik ordered, "and get him out of there. Status on the decoy."

"Hassan's forces are bringing out armor," Oxanna ordered. "Our forces can't maintain their position much longer."

"They'll have to conduct a fighting retreat. Do we have enough charges to blow the bridge?"

A pause. "Yes."

"Once Oberon is across and we've lured enough of Hassan's forces on, blow it. That should slow them down significantly."

"Oberon is already in the buggy and is being ferreted across," Oxanna reported. "He'll be at the evac point momentarily."

"Excellent." Slavik grinned. "And another nail in Hassan's coffin."

"I thought it was customary for traitors were supposed to be cremated in an unidentified factory," Oxanna replied with a smile of her own.

"I think we can make an exception this one time."

With that, Slavik relaxed and watched the rest of the battle unfold. Quite a few of the prisoners had managed to follow his forces and were across the bridge. And just like that, the structure buckled and collapsed into the water. Things certainly were going according to plan. Soon enough, Cairo would fall and the false pharaoh would lose his throne.

Cairo, Egypt

0400 Local Time

May 18, 2030

There was a certain level of anticipation building up on the Montauk's bridge. Within only two weeks, Hassan's Elite Guard had been decimated and the majority of the Brotherhood was firmly against him. Marzaq wasted little time in breaking though refrained from joining the actual fighting. Vega was never fully under Hassan's thumb to begin with and he was too far away anyways. That meant the Elite Cadre and the Black Hand would need to finish this fight, which Slavik had every intention of doing.

"Status on O'Connor's reinforcements," Slavik queried.

"They're moving in from the northwest," Oxanna reported. "A full company of tanks with minimal infantry support."

Slavik nodded. "Then let's get moving. Wouldn't do for us to be late."

From his tactical display, he could see the end of the bridge. Hassan only had two guards present, indicating either carelessness or just how few soldiers Hassan had left. As the Black Hand strike team approached, they moved forward to challenge them.

"Halt, and identify yourselves in the name of Kane," one said.

The response was a quick burst from their rifles. One of the guards dropped while the other managed to scramble away.

"Sound the alarm! Slavik's forces are here!"

That was all he got out as another burst took him down. The buggies and bikes raced across the bridge with the infantry running behind. They tore through a few soldiers before a laser struck the first buggy. It flipped skidded to a halt, ramming into the sandbags. The bike didn't stop and let loose two missiles. The turret didn't have enough time to serve before they hit. The surviving buggy continued to mow down the infantry. Another rocket stopped its rampage but by now Slavik's infantry had caught up. Ignoring the carnage, they headed straight for the bridge. From Oberon's information, Slavik knew Hassan would take a scorched earth approach. Blowing the bridge was one step and would definitely slow them down. However, Slavik wasn't going to let it happen.

As they advanced, his soldiers continued firing, taking down an engineer before he could reach the demo truck. Just as the initial resistance was fading, the ground shook and an APC burst forth. It was quickly greeted by a rocket but only the drill was wrecked. Its passengers were still safe and sound and quickly disembarking. Slavik ground his teeth as his troops tried to regain their footing. While this attack wasn't enough to fight back his forces, it could weaken his foothold. He could only watch as his soldiers finally fought back, though a few were done already. Finally, the buggy managed to get around the APC and bring its machine gun to bear. Its spew of lead quickly nailed Hassan's troops and they were out.

"Foothold secured sir," a soldier reported. "Awaiting reinforcements."

"The MCV has arrived," CABAL stated.

Slavik directed the lumbering vehicle across the bridge and they began construction of an outpost. The buildings left behind were quickly commandeered and more soldiers began flowing in.

"Hassan's main base is to the north across the bridge, but there's also another base to the south," Oxanna said. "We should take it out before moving against the main base to avoid any attacks on our rear."

"Agreed," said Slavik. "However, I want his forces pinged down. Send teams across the bridge and secure the other side. That should prevent him from launching any attacks from that direction."

"And to the south?"

"I want that base intact," Slavik replied. "Cairo could become very useful once we've rooted out the traitor."

The two forces were quickly assembled and began moving out even before the outpost was ready. If they could keep Hassan preoccupied, they wouldn't need to worry about defending the base.

"Sir, Hassan's forces are pressing hard," the radio crackled.

Zooming north, Slavik watched his troops engage in a vicious firefight. Even with buggies to support them, they were hard pressed to maintain their position.

"Is the outpost online yet?"

"Primary systems online, power generation stable," CABAL reported.

"Sergeant, take that Hand of Nod and we can use it to deploy defenses," Slavik ordered.

"Acknowledged!"

Despite the odds, his men pressed forward and took positions around the structure. Several went down to clear out anyone inside. It wasn't long before the building showed up on Slavik's grid.

"Excellent. Defenses?"

"Coming online now."

Around the Hand of Nod, a series of laser turrets activated. They took Hassan's men by surprise, roasting them before they could counter. With this brief reprieve, more soldiers came forward and secured the perimeter. With the lull, Slavik turned his attention south. His second force was assembled and waiting for orders.

"Same strategy as before," Slavik stated. "Bikes are to take out turrets and buggies go for any engineers you see. Then infantry will mop up."

"Yes sir."

On the monitor, Slavik watched the dots race into the base. The buggies bypassed the initial defenses though not without some losses. One of the turrets was able to track the leader and blasted its wheel off. The others simply went around the disabled unit, not even bothering to help. Moments later, missiles from the bikes took out the defenses. Things were going according to plan until they appeared on the video feed.

"Tanks!"

Three Tick Tanks appeared from nowhere and blasted apart two of the buggies. The others swerved around, trying to avoid the cannons.

"Continue with the plan," Slavik shouted into the radio. "Bikes, take out those tanks!"

As the buggies peeled around, the bikes charged in and unleashed a flurry of missiles. Even this took too long as the tanks fired again, smashing three of the bikes. Two more crashed into their comrades, decimating the bike force. The buggies ignored all this, chewing through any infantry still around. Slavik's own men were just moving into the base and quickly took cover. Fortunately, the rush wasn't a complete waste as the missiles smashed into two of the tanks. One had its turret blown off while the other ground to a halt. Fires raged over its armor and the crew quickly bailed out. They quickly became prey for the buggies.

The last tank continued firing, blasting craters in the walls Slavik's men were hiding behind. Its own machine gun pelted their positions, forcing them to keep their heads down. Suddenly, another puff of smoke flashed and a missile smashed into the tank's side. Scanning the battlefield, Slavik saw a soldier standing by a wrecked bike. It was definitely the rider and he'd managed to set off the rocket pods. Slavik grinned. A fine display of initiative. The tank ground to a halt before more explosions ripped it apart. Apparently the rocket had hit the tank's ammo.

"Secure the base," Slavik ordered. "Reinforcements will be there promptly."

"Yes sir," came the weary response.

Slavik didn't blame the man. Taking on armor without any on their side was a difficult job, especially since only the bikes had weapons to go up against thanks. Losing so many right at the start should have ensured their defeat, but the Black Hand did not give up that easily.

"Has Hassan made any other moves yet?" Slavik asked.

"Our forces north have caught sight of more tanks, but Hassan seems to be keeping them in reserve. From all indications, he doesn't have that much armor to waste."

"Make sure our forces are equipped with anti-armor weapons," Slavik ordered. "We don't need another surprise like that showing up."

"Understood," said Oxanna. A beep alerted her to a new event and Oxanna tapped the console. "Sir, General O'Connor's forces have arrived from the northwest. They are requesting orders."

"Excellent timing," said Slavik. "Our own armored forces?"

"Awaiting your orders."

"Move an infantry force north to join O'Connor's tanks. They'll attack Hassan from the north and we'll continue pushing into his base from the south. But do not destroy Hassan's command center. I want the traitor alive."

"Yes sir."

The rest of the battle was almost like clockwork. With tanks coming at him from both sides, Hassan's men knew they were outnumbered and outgunned. Some even began to surrender, making Slavik's job that much easier. In one last desperate lunge, Hassan committed his remaining tanks to retaking the southern bridge. However, fighting inside his own base robbed his tanks of their mobility and they were picked off by rocket infantry. While Hassan found his army slowly being whittled away Slavik continued to be strengthened by new arrivals. By the time the Black Hand stormed the Nod Pyramid, Hassan was completely alone.

Within an hour of securing the base, Slavik entered the Pyramid in triumph. All the preparations were complete for finally uniting the Brotherhood into a single cohesive whole once more. Stepping into the massive auditorium, Slavik allowed himself to bask in the adulation of his soldiers. They cheered as he climbed the stage and walked to the podium and Slavik wasn't about to silence them. This was what it meant to be victorious. This was Nod.

"Brotherhood!" Slavik shouted. "We are whole again!"

The cheering threw louder, coalescing into a deafening roar. Nod was hungry for action and Slavik was ready to lead them on their crusade once more. Reaching to his belt, Slavik gripped his knife.

"The sickness has been cut out!" Slavik proclaimed, taking it out.

Right on the signal, two Black Hand soldiers came forward, dragging Hassan with them. The North African had been stripped of his uniform but continued to look defiant. However, he knew there would be no mercy. Shout of "traitor!" and "kill him!" echoed the hall. Slavik grinned as he regarded Hassan. How the mighty had fallen. He pressed the knife to Hassan's neck and turned to the crowd once more. The time had come.

"In the name of Kane."

"Kane lives in death!" the soldiers shouted back.

"In the name of Kane!"

"Kane lives in death!"

Raising his arm, Slavik shouted one more, "In the name of Kane!"

"Kane lives in death!"

Then, suddenly the massive screen behind them gave way and a voice proclaimed, "Kane lives!"

The response was immediate. While the cheering had been deafening before, it now drowned out everything else as the sight of Kane, founder of the Brotherhood of Nod, appeared before them all. Slavik let the moment sink in, knowing he was witnessing history in the making. This would be the moment historians would claim was the turning point, when the Brotherhood reemerged as a great power to end the world of GDI's tyranny and save humanity. Glancing over at Hassan, Slavik grinned at the North African's expression. The man was in absolute shock and couldn't tear his gaze away from the screen.

Finally deigning to regard Hassan, Kane smiled. "Rule of thumb, Hassan. You can't kill the Messiah."

Taking that as his signal, Slavik slit the man's throat and passed the knife over to another soldier. The body slumped down and blood poured from his veins, but that was a distant matter now. The voices continued to chant Kane's name, in honor of their leader. Finally, Kane spoke.

"Rise, my people. I have returned, never to leave your side again. GDI sought to destroy me, but they have only made me stronger. Today, we march forward into our future, a stronger people, a divine people, enhanced for the Tiberium world. The time has come, to claim this world as our own! The time has come, to destroy GDI! One vision, one purpose!"

The cheers started again. "The technology of peace!"

"Peace through power!" Kane called out.

"Peace through power!" the Brotherhood echoed. Swept up in the moment, Slavik joined them.

It was indeed a glorious day for the Brotherhood, and the beginning of a new age.

End of Chapter 2

Because of the varying command styles, how the battles are described will be different. O'Connor is most definitely not a field officer, as he takes care of the big picture. Slavik, as commander of a much smaller force, will personally oversee and issue orders. Langley is somewhat like Slavik in that he will personally oversee things, but will remain with his command ship. McNeil is the one who will be on the ground, fighting alongside his troops while also issuing orders. These varying styles will become more evident as time goes on.

My laptop's power cord got messed up, which is why it took so long to get this chapter it. It was half finished when that happened. Anyways, someone asked if O'Connor was the Nod general you played as in Tiberian Dawn. Umm, no. He's not old enough. As for what O'Connor's backstory really is, well, we'll see. And I don't own C&C.

Z98


	4. Chapter 3

Point of a Spear

"_A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions."_

_Marcus Aurelius_

Chapter 3: Secrets

Caucus Mountains

1800 Local Time

May 30, 2030

In a rare moment of calm, O'Connor actually had the time to enjoy his dinner for once. After Hassan's execution and Kane's public reappearance, the Brotherhood was finally united after thirty years of turmoil. However, that didn't mean the Brotherhood was ready to fight another war. Only a few formations were properly equipped and trained. Most of the rest were just a bunch of militants with light arms. If GDI brought its heavy weapons into play, they would be crushed. And guerrilla warfare could only do so much. But O'Connor could worry about that after dinner. For now, he wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet. He could even take off his sunglasses in the privacy of his private suite.

"How is it you manage to get wine in this place?" Marko asked between sips. She too had no need of her sunglasses in here and a pair of bright green eyes stared back at him. It was almost like a reflection of his own. "I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere and the closest place to get good wine is France."

"The black market's always thrived alongside the Brotherhood," O'Connor said, cutting into his roast. "You'd be surprised what you can get."

"And you don't find it hypocritical, that we're here enjoying the good life while the people Nod claims to represent are suffering?"

This conversation had taken place many times before. Sometimes O'Connor wondered if the good doctor had just run out of topics to talk about. Both of them knew the debate by heart.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," O'Connor said, pointedly ignoring the accusation. "Is Homo Tiberius a species? Or just a mutation?"

Marko raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me my opinion as a scientist or as a human?"

"How about as a woman?"

Setting her glass down, Marko stared at O'Connor. "I suppose a species must be viable, otherwise you couldn't call it that. As to whether I'm capable of carrying offspring, who knows? I'm biologically capable of doing so, but whether I can conceive is another matter."

"Should I order a project to explore that avenue?"

Marko's face remained stiff but O'Connor could see the twinkle in her eyes. The doctor badly wanted to burst out laughing and was trying very hard to restrain herself.

"General O'Connor," Marko said as evenly as she could. "You have the strangest way of coming on to a woman I have ever seen. And while you're not as crass as Captain Parker, you're not exactly a romantic either."

"I believe he's a retired colonel now." O'Connor kept his face equally impassive. "I wasn't aware I was flirting. I believe I was discussing a serious scientific question."

At that Marko gave up and let out her laughter. She went on for several moments before wearing herself out and sinking into her chair.

"Sometimes I don't understand you," she finally said. "We've been in this on and off relationship for almost two decades. We've even slept together on a semi-regular basis and we didn't even use protection quite a few times. I think the answer is obvious. I can't conceive."

O'Connor raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"What makes you think it's possible?" Marko shot back. "Especially if our bodies don't degenerate like you claim, what purpose would there be to create offspring? It would only result in massive overpopulation."

"And yet we can still be killed if enough force is applied," O'Connor replied. "If we were a species, that means some natural way exists to compensate for that possibility."

"Oh? Has Kane's return got you worried about death?"

"Kane's return is a concern," O'Connor conceded, "but let's just say my concerns also extend to humanity as a whole. After all, if Homo tiberius is meant to be a replacement for Homo sapiens, it'd be mighty stupid if the next step of human evolution couldn't produce offspring."

"That's if Homo tiberius really will replace Homo sapiens," Marko stated. This was a fairly sensitive issue with the doctor. "Humanity has adapted quite well to Tiberium. It may be taking its toll, but humans will persevere."

"There are many ways to persevere. And besides, aren't we also humans?"

Marko huffed. "You're too damn good at doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Turning my words against me. But I see your point, and I know you see mine. Still, I agree we need to keep our options open. I'll look into the matter." A mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Of course, I'll need a sample of your sperm to dissect."

"I'm surprised it's taken this long to initiate this project," O'Connor said calmly. "After all, it's not like you didn't have plenty of opportunity to do so before."

That earned him more than just a glare as the wine bottle's cork came flying at him. Thankfully his reflexes were just as fast as hers and he caught the thing before it could smack him. Marko spent the rest of dinner pointedly ignoring O'Connor. Still, she didn't resist as O'Connor kissed her goodbye. Both still had a lot of work to do and only needing an hour of sleep a week definitely helped increase productivity.

As Marko walked back to her labs, she thought over O'Connor's words. The general was right about one thing. If the two of them could not have children, that was one avenue of survival cut off for the human race. A species capable of surviving on a Tiberian Earth would at least drastically reduce the risk of extinction. A part of Marko also felt, not embarrassed, but angry that she could not conceive. It was entirely possible she was simply infertile or too old, yet her own physicals had indicated she still had viable eggs. For that matter, she hadn't had a period in years. Something else was needed to trigger a reaction. What she had no idea.

The lab facilities here were top of the line, probably even better than what GDI could have provided her with. Because the Brotherhood had much more experience with Tiberium, some of the diagnostic equipment were years beyond anything GDI possessed. While she could have asked for a more powerful supercomputer to run simulations on, the ones here were still powerful. And if she really needed more computing power, there was apparently another facility with an even more advanced cluster that she could send requests to. That however required her to go directly to O'Connor and she always needed a damn good excuse for why she required access.

However, the matter of children would have to wait for morning. There was something else Marko needed to investigate, something O'Connor's forces had found in Italy during a routine sweep. Italy, ground zero for the meteor that brought Tiberium to this world. Even Nod cells avoided the area unless there was a good reason to go into the wasteland. Marko didn't know why O'Connor sent regular patrols, but this find seemed to justify his actions.

This base, as one of O'Connor's primary command centers, held several containment and quarantine units to store unique or dangerous items. These chambers were behind a series of radiation shields, blast doors, and enough armor and buffering to contain the detonation of most conventional explosives. Considering what was in this particular unit, Marko wasn't sure if it was enough. She passed through a series of checks, with each door sealing behind her before she could open the next one. Entering the observation deck, Marko could barely make out the item inside. But if one was at just the right angle and the light struck it just right, a red glint could be seen. Magnifying the image on the console, the camera zoomed in on a red Tiberium crystal.

The crystal was small, so small Marko originally thought it was a fragment from a larger formation. Yet after the preliminary scan results, she quickly changed her opinion. If something had applied enough force to fracture a red crystal, the resulting explosion would have destroyed everything within a ten meter radius, if they were lucky. A crystal this small would at the very least fracture the blast screens it now floated behind. Calling up the spectroscopic analysis, Marko examined the results. The differences were quite stark.

The green crystals of Tiberium riparius was highly stable, concentrating large amounts of desirable elements in the process. With Tiberium vinifera, the arrangement of the molecules and bonds were different, resulting in higher concentrations of elements but a more unstable structure. However, this, object, was something else entirely. Instead of the usual structure one would expect from a crystal, this red Tiberium seemed to be partially liquid in nature. It was as if veins in the crystal acted as paths for the liquid like compound to flow. This flow seemed to also create an electromagnetic field and in effect becoming a battery of sorts. The implications were nothing short of astounding. Yet so many questions remained. How was red Tiberium formed? What exactly created the electromagnetic field? And most importantly, was there more red Tiberium out there in the wild?

Until the chamber was further reinforced, the tests and experiments Marko could run were limited. As such, all she could do for now was take non-intrusive measurements. Giving the crystal one last glance, Marko turned and made her way out. For some reason, being around the crystal felt comfortable. Yet that comfort made Marko sick to her stomach.

Cairo, Egypt

1200 Local Time

June 10, 2030

"Another battalion has reported in," Oxanna stated as she followed Slavik down the corridor. "That makes eight since last week. Construction of the defense system is proceeding on schedule and should be completed within the month."

"And until the system is in place, we have to remain here and protect this base," Slavik uttered. A tinge of discontent could be heard in his voice, were one to pay attention. "And the excavation of the Temple?"

"O'Connor's forces seem to have found something, but they've already locked it down and begun moving it out."

Slavik paused. "What?"

"They have Kane's authorization," Oxanna quickly assured him. "I checked the moment the report came in."

"Very well." The Nod general resumed his pace. "How soon before we can begin a general offensive?"

A moment passed as Oxanna checked her pad. "In theory, within six months. However, our forces have been weakened by the years of infighting. To properly fight a war against GDI, we would need at least a year, maybe two."

"A year which we don't have," said Slavik. "Have any new directives been issued?"

"No sir."

"Good. Then I'll see you after the meeting."

Nodding, Oxanna separated from Slavik and went on her way. Slavik proceeded to the conference room, passing dozens of Black Hand guards. As the elite of Nod, his forces provided most of the security for Kane and this complex. The base itself was reinforced by regular Nod forces, with more units arriving with each passing day. Soon enough, Cairo would become an impregnable fortress not even GDI could crack.

Of the major Nod commanders, Slavik was the only one in Cairo. The others were all attending this meeting remotely. Three faces were on the screens as Slavik took his place next to Kane. Marzaq, Vega, and O'Connor.

"Welcome, brothers," Kane greeted them. While Slavik could see the metal mask covering half of Kane's face, the others would not. The feed was being digitally enhanced so Kane looked normal. "I called this meeting to share with you the direction the Brotherhood will be taking. For too long, the Brotherhood has stagnated and fought within itself for power while the real enemy, GDI, continues to grow stronger. We must prepare for the future, and Tiberium is the key to our future."

"We do not doubt your word, sir," Marzaq said, "but the Brotherhood is in shambles. We need time before we can challenge GDI once more."

Casting a withering look at Marzaq, Kane made no response to the general's statement. Instead he spoke to another officer. "General O'Connor. I believe you have several technical projects underway, based off of data you retrieved from both the Cairo and Sarajevo temples."

The other warlords all looked at O'Connor, surprised at Kane's words. Vega had even secretly wondered why O'Connor was included in this conference. It seemed all of them had severely underestimated the leader of the Cadre.

"Yes," O'Connor admitted, "though none of them are ready for deployment."

Keying something in, Kane issued an order. "I am transmitting you designs for a ballistic missile system. How long will it take to complete?"

Whatever Kane sent took little time arriving. Glancing over the data, O'Connor grimaced. In reality, he had developed something similar to this, though the specific payload had not yet been determined. Lying wouldn't do much good. At the very least, he could try to delay this.

"Fifteen months," O'Connor finally said.

"Very well," said Kane. "In one year, I want the Brotherhood ready to launch strikes against GDI worldwide."

No one dared raise any objections. And from his tone, it wasn't likely Kane would broker any.

"General Vega," Kane said, turning to the Latin American. "Transfer a division of your forces to Europe. They will be needed for a forthcoming operation. There is also a mission I require your forces to undertake in Bolivia."

Vega swallowed. "Of course, Kane."

Slavik grinned at the druglord's discomfort. Vega had grown more and more bold over the past few years. He continued to expand his territory north, in what many viewed as an attempt to set himself as Hassan and replace the North African as leader of Nod. With Kane's return, those ambitions were crushed. Now Vega was being forced to divert resources away from his campaign of conquest. The man dared not disobey, for he needed the Brotherhood far more than the Brotherhood needed him.

"When the time comes, we will reclaim Sarajevo. Once the Temple grounds are back under our control, our victory over GDI will be assured."

"Excuse me sir," Marzaq said. "But what is at Sarajevo? GDI forces have been excavating the region for years."

"You will learn when the time comes," Kane simply said. "GDI has not yet discovered the item in question."

Looking at the attending officers, Slavik tried to read their reactions. Marzaq and Vega tried to remain impassive, but it was obvious neither knew what Kane was referring to. The only one who had walked within the hallowed walls of either Temple was O'Connor and he was the least likely to betray anything. Not being able to see his eyes made it that much harder to read the man.

"General Slavik, General Marzaq," Kane spoke once more. "We must secure footholds for our campaign. The European theater will be especially important. Large concentrations of GDI forces are stationed within a relatively small area. This means they can bring more of their forces to bear against us, thus we must weaken and divide them. Marzaq, you will concentrate on northern Europe. Slavik, move in from the south."

"Yes sir," said Slavik. Though Marzaq was a competent commander, Slavik didn't quite trust the man.

"Begging your pardon, sir," Marzaq began, "but what of the mutants? They've become increasingly disruptive over the years and there are large numbers of them in Europe. They often employ the same hit and run tactics as we do, making them hard to outright defeat."

"The mutants are misguided," said Kane. "They have received the gift of Divination and yet resist us. Still, we cannot allow them to obstruct our plans. Wipe them out when necessary. The healthier ones can be used for our cyborg program."

O'Connor listened carefully at Kane's words, picking them apart mentally. Their great leader had simply issued a directive, leaving his followers to figure out the details. Then there was the order to forcibly conscript the mutants into the cyborg program, as if the other factions needed an excuse to do so. Ultimately, innocents mattered little to Kane. Anyone who opposed his will was irrelevant and anyone who followed him was expendable. That was the true way of the Brotherhood, no matter how the other members deluded themselves. It was simply a matter of staying alive long enough to benefit from the fallout of whatever mad scheme Kane was brewing this time.

As Kane spoke, a map of the world appeared on the conference table. All the generals looked down at the patchwork of red and gold. Large areas of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America were a bright red while regions usually considered as westernized were gold.

"For the time being, we must divert GDI's attention from our true objectives. Create enough incidents that GDI is forced to respond and spread their forces thin. When the time comes, they will be ill prepared for our major strikes."

"Sir, if I may," Marzaq began. "What are our true objectives?"

"The transformation of Earth into a Tiberium paradise," Kane proclaimed.

The statement was delivered with an even, almost nonchalant voice. Yet it seemed to reverberate amongst the gathered officers, as if Kane had screamed the words into their ears. There was no denying the force behind those words, even if one didn't directly hear it. Kane meant what he said and he would broker no failure. O'Connor nudged up his glasses and considered what course of action would lead to such an outcome. The missile system was but one part of this puzzle, after all.

"Humans aren't yet capable of surviving in a Tiberian environment," O'Connor pointed out. "The same holds for our food supply."

The other officers all turned to face Kane, waiting for his answer. They all shared O'Connor's concerns and were glad to have them voiced.

"Soon enough, Homo sapiens will be replaced by Homo tiberius and the problem will solve itself. But for the time being, I believe you again have taken measures. Or I severely underestimated you."

Slavik swore a look of annoyance crossed O'Connor's face. While he knew his mentor was exceedingly thorough, that same trait was the closest thing to a pattern in O'Connor's actions. And like any good commander, O'Connor didn't like being predictable.

"While I have contingencies in place, they do _not_ have the capacity to supply the entire Brotherhood. My question was directed at what preparations, if any, the other parties have made." The emphasis was as much a warning as it was for clarification. If the other factions were unprepared for the coming transformation, they would face extinction. Considering the power plays within the Nod hierarchy, it was probably the most deniable way of eliminating rivals.

Amongst the gathered, Slavik focused on Vega. With his stronghold in Latin America, the druglord was in perhaps the most precarious position. The climate down there was heavily favorable to Tiberium, allowing it to overrun almost all arable land. This combined with the scarcity of fresh water only compounded his problems.

"While the matter is of concern, all it means is we must accelerate the evolution of mankind," Kane stated.

As if that closed the matter for discussion, Kane moved onto other matters. The rest of the meeting was somewhat tedious, with Vega and Marzaq jockeying for advantage against Slavik and O'Connor. Kane didn't bother intervening, perhaps using the bickering as a way to keep his generals in check. By the time the meeting was over, Slavik was happy for the reprieve. At the very least, he now had his orders. As the screens shut down and Slavik himself stood to leave, Kane spoke.

"O'Connor, linger for a moment. There is something we need to discuss."

Pausing briefly, Slavik wondered what the topic would be. Kane had waited for Marzaq and Vega to disconnect, yet didn't seem bothered that he was still present. Perhaps that meant he would soon share this secret. Or perhaps the matter was completely inconsequential. That didn't seem likely. While he had faith, Slavik still intended to find out what was going on. All the better to be prepared.

Once the leader of the Black Hand was out the door, Kane spoke. "I assume you've continued work on Project: Regenesis."

O'Connor tilted his head. "To a degree."

"From what I have seen, you possess a much more refined Divination procedure than even those used to create cyborgs. You even avoid the extensive augmentation my cyborgs undergo."

"A centralized army is unwieldy," O'Connor replied. "I know the design of the cyborgs. At the flick of a switch, someone or something can seize control of them and turn them against the Brotherhood."

"Is that your GDI training speaking out?"

Taking it in stride, O'Connor shrugged. "Consider it my humanity speaking out. I trust flesh over machines."

"You mean CABAL."

"Please recall I was there when the original version destabilized. I would prefer not to suffer an even bigger disaster."

"Is that why you created the Elite Cadre?" Kane asked. "A force of shock troopers able to match the cyborgs?"

"It was a consideration."

Leaning back, Kane gave O'Connor a thoughtful look. Both men had a lot of practice hiding their thoughts and moods. While O'Connor's glasses hid his eyes, half of Kane's face was covered by the metal mask.

"I want you to conduct a special project for me," Kane finally said. "You've laid most of the foundation with your work on Divination. Now I need you to take it to the next stage."

"And that would be?"

"To develop the technology to complement the biological. While the Brotherhood has made great advances over the past few decades, the technology is still extremely crude compared to what the Tacitus holds."

At the mention of the database, O'Connor's chin rose ever so slightly. "You have the Tacitus?"

"Not yet, but it will be in my hands soon enough."

"It's at Sarajevo," O'Connor said bluntly.

Kane nodded. "Fortunately, GDI has yet to discover it or the ship."

"No backups exist?"

"And what is it you want from the Tacitus?"

Checking his tone, O'Connor answered. "Not having it has set back basic research in almost every field the Brotherhood is interested in. We're stumbling in the dark."

"True enough. But don't get too ahead of yourself, O'Connor. After all, I have a timetable for the Brotherhood to follow." O'Connor said nothing so Kane continued. "Now there existed two partial backups from the Tacitus, of which I have one. The other you already have, since otherwise quite a few of your projects would be quite impossible."

That perked O'Connor's interest. "And is this backup also encrypted?"

"I doubt that will be too problematic for you. After all, you've had three decades to break the encryption on the other backup."

So he had. O'Connor wondered if Kane knew the full extent of what he had discovered. "Very well. I assume there's a reason you're giving me this data?"

"The weapons technology you're developing will be crucial in the coming battle. I require as much of it to be ready as possible. The Banshee fighter, for one. As well as a corp of Tiberium enhanced warriors."

"Don't you already have the cyborgs?"

Kane grinned. "While sturdy, the cyborgs are imperfect creations. You yourself are far superior."

A grunt. "I'll look into it."

"The specifications will be sent with the backup."

Taking note of the intent, O'Connor nodded. Once the connection was broken, he rubbed his eyes and leaned back. It seemed the work Marko had conducted on Divination were about to be diverted for something other than the survival of mankind. The good doctor was not going to like this, something that would play out during dinner tonight. O'Connor couldn't wait.

GDI Sector Command

Paris, France

1600 Local Time

June 15, 2030

Pouring over field reports wasn't high on the list of enjoyable passtimes in Langley's book. With the increase in Nod activity, the amount of reports increased proportionally. Activity along the old German-Polish and Greek-Turkish borders was especially heavy. Such widespread activity suggested a leadership acting in concert, a disturbing development considering the infighting of the past three decades. The question remained as to what their objective really was.

"General."

Looking up, Langley gratefully accepted a cup of coffee from his assistant. It being afternoon mattered little, coffee was always welcome after such heavy reading.

"Shouldn't you be leaving this to InOps?" Lieutenant Samantha Jackson asked.

"If I could trust their analysis, I would," Langley replied. Like most field officers, he held a natural suspicion of desk analysts. "Besides, they still haven't reached any conclusions."

Tossing aside another report, Langley took a sip and relaxed. Since his assignment, his taskforce had engaged Nod nearly fifteen times. Most of the battles were quick and decisively GDI victories. Whether they mattered in the long run was another question entirely.

"We live in interesting times, Lieutenant," said Langley. "Nod activity has increased threefold over the past month, though we have yet to see any major attacks. It's likely they're rearming in preparation."

"Yes sir," Jackson said, before putting down the folder in her arms. "The file on O'Connor. General Khalid granted you access to it."

"Finally. Wonder what InOps did to delay approval for so long."

Supposedly a minor player in the grand scheme of things, O'Connor had avoided extensive scrutiny from InOps by lying low in Russia. They didn't even have a reliable picture of the man. Yet there was something about O'Connor's activities that suggested he was a very big fish. Too bad the InOps dossier was so incomplete.

"No known date or place of birth, they don't even know how old he is. Suspected time with the Brotherhood, over thirty years. That would mean he's fairly old, older than me at least. Yet that seems contradictory with the few eye witness accounts of him. Perhaps a double?"

"Sir, if he was really part of the Brotherhood over thirty years ago, might there be something about him in the archives?"

"Possibly," Langley said thoughtfully. "But most of those archives are supposed to have been digitized. EVA, run a search for the name Richard O'Connor in association with the Brotherhood in the archives."

"Searching," the disembodied voice reported. Several seconds passed in silence as they waited. "Search completed. No results found."

Langley frowned. "None whatsoever?"

"Correct."

"EVA, are you limiting the search based off of my clearance level?"

"Level Five clearance level required for full search."

"Which doesn't necessarily mean there is anything in the classified sections," Langley muttered.

"What about the paper copies?" Jackson suggested.

"You know, that might just work, though I might get stonewalled again because of clearance issues." A moment of silence passed as Langley considered his options. "We can start with the SWD archives in London, maybe we'll get lucky and not need to go outside the Division. Unfortunately, digging through them would be very time consuming. I'll need to pull together a team, people I can trust."

"Are you worried about spies?"

"If O'Connor is really as powerful as I think he is, well, who knows. And even if he doesn't personally have spies in GDI, I wouldn't underestimate the combined intelligence capabilities of the Brotherhood."

Before Langley could follow up on that, his console beeped and another message box appeared. "I hate popups."

Jackson suppressed a smirk while Langley read.

"Well, well. It seems we have another mission. Which squads are reporting ready?"

"Squads 8, 10, 11, and 17 are all ready," Jackson answered immediately.

Calling up a map, Langley nodded. "Good. We can get air support from Ramnstein base."

"A situation in Germany, sir?"

"Poland, actually. Intelligence has identified a series of Nod outposts. Command wants them taken out. Get squads 8 and 17 ready for departure. We'll be taking the Kodiak."

"Yes sir."

One of two Orca command cruisers, the Kodiak I was the prototype that eventually spawned the Kodiak II. Traditionally reserved for use by General Solomon himself with the callsign of Global One, its use was granted to Langley for his current assignment. The last time Solomon actually made use of the craft was two years ago, so it wasn't as if the general needed it. Smaller than the Kodiak assigned to Brigadier General Michael McNeil, Global One served well in its role for fast insertion and extraction.

Walking out to the airfield, Langley was greeted by his strike teams. While not considered true black ops units, the Special Warfares Division had a colorful history of getting the job done however they could regardless of what was at hand. In doing so, they sometimes stepped into what other parts of GDI considered their exclusive jurisdiction. Langley continued that tradition without reserve and thus had quite a few enemies, especially in InOps. Fortunately, he had just as many allies amongst officers with field command experience.

"Our targets are a series of outposts outside Gdansk. Intelligence thinks Nod is using them as staging points and weapons depots. Orders are to take all of them out. Let's move it!"

"Sir!"

Traditionally, generals weren't supposed to accompany their men on small missions like this one, even if he was overlooking them high above. That bit of conventional wisdom went out the window around the end of the 20th century as GDI continued integrating the armies of the western world into itself. Langley climbed onto the bird with his men and proceeded to the bridge. A short jump through the upper atmosphere and they were above their target zone. His troops didn't take long disembarking so the Kodiak wasn't long on the ground.

What was once a rather nice tourist location was now a Tiberium wasteland. With its natural harbor, it used to be a major port. These days, the city itself was nominally GDI controlled but in reality the population was heavily sympathetic to Nod. This made the area a perfect place for the Brotherhood to set up operations and eventually take the region from GDI, something his superiors wanted to avoid at all cost.

A total of eight dots appeared on the map, marking each of the outposts they needed to take out. With only a company's worth of troops, Langley couldn't launch more than two simultaneous attacks without overextending his forces. Good thing air support was on the way and all his troops needed to do was light the targets. As the eight teams moved out, video feed was relayed back to the Kodiak and displayed.

"Minimal defenses, we can take them out without armor. How's our air support?"

"Fighters ETA in three minutes," Jackson stated, then looked at Langley. "Sir, why are we out here? Sending out the Kodiak for such a simple mission seems to be overkill."

"There was a footnote in that mission briefing that I'm worried about," said Langley. "Notice the configuration of the bases. My bet is those outposts are more than staging points, that they outline a perimeter for something bigger."

Jackson's eyes widened slightly. "A cloaked base?"

"Possibly. Nod activity has increased significantly over the past few months. Intel doesn't know how they're getting so many troops into the area or where they're hiding them. Seems a logical conclusion."

"If that's the case, shouldn't we have brought in more forces?"

"SWD doesn't have the resources on hand to. Besides, I'm not a field commander. I'd need to confirm my suspicion before I can federate the local forces."

"Yes sir. What about the risk to our forces?"

A moment passed before Langley answered. "This is war. I can't coddle those under my command, no matter how much I want them to keep living."

"Targets lit," the radio interrupted them. "Awaiting strikes."

"Tigerhawk squadron, this is General Langley. Targets are lit. Permission to begin attack run."

"Tigerhawks acknowledge," another voice replied. "On the way."

The wait wasn't too long before fires blossomed in the feeds. Fire rained down and explosions tore apart each outpost. Figures could be seen scrambling about trying to escape the carnage but the Orca fighters were now coming in low to use their guns. Bullets peppered the ground and shredded anything that escaped the fires. A rocket here and there rose up, challenging the fighters, but all fell short as the Orcas easily evaded them. As the flames began dying down, Langley's teams moved in to survey the carnage.

"Any indications of a tunnel?" Langley asked.

"If there was one, it's been buried," came one response. "The Orcas really did a number down here."

"Excuse us for being good at our jobs," one of the pilots shot back. The squadron was still overhead, waiting for further instructions.

"Stow the chatter," Langley ordered. "All units, still nothing so far?"

"Sorry sir, nothing but rubble here."

"Nothing but twisted metal."

Leaning back, Langley frowned. Either Nod was too shocked to have all these outposts taken out at once, or he had miscalculated and there wasn't a larger base hidden in this region. Looking at the map again, Langley considered his options. Without more troops, he couldn't comb the area, but without proof, he couldn't get those troops. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as signals appeared on the map, only to disappear seconds later. They were quickly followed by sounds of explosions.

"Artillery fire!" a voice screamed over the radio.

"Pull back," Langley ordered. "Tigerhawks, did you get a fix?"

"Roger. Nod artillery hidden by a cloak. Permission to plaster them?"

"Negative," Langley said. "If they've got cloaked artillery, they've likely got cloaked AA. Maintain altitude and wait for further orders."

A pause, then finally. "Order acknowledged."

"Status on our units?" Langley asked.

"They're pulling out as fast as they can," Jackson replied. "Team 3 took heavy casualties though. The initial strikes were right on top of them."

Cursing to himself, Langley barked out more orders. "Inform Command that we've discovered a Nod base under a cloaking field. I want MSAs out here on the double. Notify Gdansk garrison that I am assuming field command of their forces and need reinforcements."

As quickly as Langley issued them, Jackson carried them out. Responses from the garrison was expectedly confused but Jackson provided the necessary justifications and the ball was soon rolling.

"EVA, extrapolate the firing zone of those artillery," Langley requested. "Will our MSAs have enough range to detect the base?"

"Working. For Mobile Sensor Arrays to be outside the estimated firing zone, they will be at the extreme range for their sensors to detect any cloaked units."

"Good enough. Land forces here, here, and here." Langley designated three hills around the suspected base. "Each force is to have a MSA. I don't want any holes in this grid."

"Sir, Gdansk garrison can only send us two MSAs," Jackson said. "They need their last one for their own early warning network."

"Damn. Alright, change landing site for the second MSA to here. At least two is better than one. ETA on main force?"

"Twelve minutes, sir. Gdansk garrison wasn't expecting a force request."

Langley growled. "Sloppy. Alright, get my troops to this position. Have the Tigerhawks move to the other point. They'll provide cover for the MSAs until the main force gets there. I want that sensor net up as fast as possible."

"Yes sir."

Despite having suffered an artillery bombardment, Langley's forces made good time and managed to beat the MSA being airlifted in. A few were still slightly dazed but they were safe for the time being. As the MSAs deployed, new telemetry began transmitting to the Kodiak and the map was updated accordingly. Faint signals were displayed at the edge of the grid.

"EVA, overlay the suspected positions of the artillery." Three of the signals were circled, while five others were slightly off. "Looks like they're moving the artillery. Assign targets to the Tigerhawks."

"What about protection for the MSA, sir?" Jackson asked.

"I'll take that chance. If we can take out the artillery, we can move the Arrays in closer and see exactly what Nod is hiding."

"Yes sir."

"Sir, we don't have much ammo left," said the squadron leader. "At most, we can pull off one attack run."

"Then make it count, captain."

"Acknowledged."

From his seat, the Orcas were but dots on a screen. Outside, it was so much more real. The fighters paired off and began attack runs, cutting through the air. Each unit came in from a different direction, hopefully dividing the attention of whatever AA was down there. Alarms began blaring, signaling missile locks, but no one broke off. Hot led spewed out, impacting the ground. For a second only dirt was kicked up, but suddenly sparks flew and a vehicle shimmered. Those fighters with a partner peeled away as their tail came in to finish the job while the rest continued firing. At the last second, all of them veered away as missiles appeared out of nowhere. Three weren't fast enough and ran right into the missiles and exploded, showering the ground with shrapnel. The rest danced past the missiles and pulled up to escape the next salvo.

"Any other signals?" Langley asked, forcing himself to ignore the losses for now.

"Partial contacts, but they disappeared right away," Jackson answered. "Sir, our reinforcements have arrived."

"Have them escort the MSAs deeper in. Have Tigerhawk squadron return to base. They've done their job." At a cost.

"Yes sir."

A company of Titans and Wolverines unloaded from the transports. Not as large a force as he would have liked but he'd make do. The two formations inched closer to the Nod base, with the walkers flanking the MSAs. Pairs of Wolverines pushed ahead, acting as a screen and scouting for any cloaked units. Once Langley was satisfied with the distance, the two forces stopped and the MSAs deployed. However, the sight took everyone by surprise.

"Sir, they're-"

"Yeah. EVA, are any Ion Cannon satellites in range?"

"Negative."

"Damn it."

Langley would have settled on his hunch coming true. Instead, it seemed he'd stumbled upon a force that outnumbered his own three to one, at least.

"Contact Ramstein! Request additional air support. We can't take on a force this size alone."

"Yes sir!"

Cursing GDI's lack of artillery, Langley ordered his units forward. They wouldn't be able to overcome the bases defenses, but might be able to draw the Nod forces out into the open for a bombing run. At this point, it was all he could hope to accomplish.

"Relay this to Philadelphia immediately," Langley said. "We need an Ion Cannon overhead if we want to take out that base."

Even now, Langley could see units rolling out from the Nod base. Nearly two dozen tanks were coming after his Titans, a mix of both stealth and conventional. With the MSAs, the field was leveled, assuming he could keep them from being destroyed.

"Sir, fifteen Tick Tanks and four Stealth Tanks are going for the second MSA."

"Shit." The second MSA, guarded only by the infantry Langley brought with him. "Bring us down. Do we have hard locks on those Stealth Tanks?"

"Yes sir," the pilot replied. "How low do you want us?"

"Within weapons range."

A hesitant answer came. "Yes sir."

As a command unit, the Kodiak possessed minimal weapons, mostly in the form of point defense guns. However, it did have one howitzer hidden in its belly. The barrel appeared as the Kodiak descended and the weapons officer took aim.

"Take out those Stealth Tanks the moment the cannon is in range," Langley ordered. "Once we're close enough to use the Phalanx, target the Stealth Tanks with it and switch the howitzer to the tanks."

"Sir?"

"Stealth Tanks have minimal armor," Langley explained. "Chainguns should be able to punch through with a sustained burst. Lieutenant, come in behind the Nod force. Once in weapons range, slow us down as much as possible. I want enough time to cripple them if possible."

"Yes sir," the pilot said nervously.

The Kodiak was by no means a stealthy unit and the sound of it approaching could be heard far away. That said, its actual combat record was nil and only caused confusion amongst the Nod forces. As some of the tank commanders popped their hood to see what was going on, they were suddenly greeted by rounds smashing into their comrades. Three Stealth Tanks met fiery ends before a stream of bullets carved the last one into swiss cheese. The cannon was now aiming at the regular tanks and pounding on their top armor. One shot was all it took and mushrooms of fire rose from each hit. A few Nod soldiers tried to turn their machineguns up against the Kodiak but were mercilessly chewed apart by the chainguns. In a matter of minutes, the entire force was wiped out and the Kodiak ascended once more.

Breathing heavily, Langley thanked whatever celestial was watching over him. He wouldn't be able to repeat this trick, especially with Nod AA now knowing to look for him. It was a miracle none of the Stealth Tanks got off a missile, but at least the MSA and his men were safe.

"General, Philadelphia confirms our situation and is tasking ICS-19 to us. ETA, three minutes."

"Relay our telemetry to Gdansk Garrison's ion controls to get a target lock. We need to keep Nod forces tied down in the meantime."

"Enemy forces have engaged the Titans," Jackson reported. "Unit commander is requesting orders."

"Hold the line and protect the MSA," Langley said. "Where are my fighters?"

"Sharkstorm and Falcon fighter squadrons, ETA one minute," said Jackson. "Highland bomber squadron, three minutes."

"Have Sharkstorm provide cover for the Titans." Pulling up an image of the Nod base on his personal monitor, Langley looked for any sign of evacuation. Fortunately, there wasn't even any subterranean activity. "Falcon squadron is to circle the Nod base. Do not get in range of the Nod AA, but take out anything that tries to leave the theatre. Bombers are to stand by for an attack run on my orders."

"Yes sir."

The battle on the ground was growing ever more pitched. Wolverines maneuvered about, spraying the tanks with bullets. Sparks flew and a few Stealth Tanks actually began burning but the Tick Tanks shrugged off the fire and returned some of their own. They were soon joined by the Titans as rounds smashed into the lead tank. Missiles and cannon fire responded in kind, blowing apart two Titans. The two sides continued to trade shots before a shriek signaled the arrival of the Orca fighters, punctuated with a barrage of missiles. The Nod tanks were torn asunder but fought back all the same, determined to take at least some of the GDI units with them. However, the finale wasn't long in coming.

"Sir, ICS-19 is overhead and fully charged. Target is locked."

"Fire."

The words were almost a whisper, but the following more than made up for it. A beam of light touched down from the heavens, burning anything in its path. The air itself danced as it became ionized while the ground cracked from the power. Anything unfortunate enough to be at ground zero was outright vaporized while the blast wave flattened the rest. When the sky darkened once more, a crater lay at the center of the Nod base. Structures began to decloak and defenses powered down. Almost as an afterthought, the Orca bombers came in and unloaded their deadly cargo. Another wave of fire crashed into the Nod base, finishing off those still standing. They left behind their signature, that of scorched earth.

End of Chapter 3

I actually liked how I ended this chapter, writing wise. In the process, we learn a bit more about O'Connor's past and where certain weapons technologies came from. Now does the Kodiak II also have the same weapons? We'll just have to wait and see. Anyways, I'll be playing around with the sequence of missions a bit, specifically the Nod missions. I need to make them fit with the overall GDI campaign after all. And of course, leave reviews.

Z98


	5. Chapter 4

Point of a Spear

"_The main thing is to make history, not to write it."_

_Otto von Bismarck_

Chapter 4: Turning Tables

GDI Sector Command

Paris, France

1200 Local Time

June 17, 2030

"14 Titans and 16 Wolverines destroyed or damaged beyond repair," Solomon read. "45 enemy tanks destroyed in open combat and another untold number destroyed when you blasted their base. Then there's the destruction of a major cloaked Nod base so close to Gdansk. Overall, I'd say good job."

"Thank you sir," Langley replied.

"I'd promote you, but Ismael would probably protest losing you."

"You could promote both of us, sir," Langley said jokingly.

"Time will tell," Solomon responded seriously. "But anyways, you said you needed something?"

Suppressing his surprise, Langley nodded. "I need access to the restricted archives. I've been trying to find information on General O'Connor, but all the regular searches with my clearance level aren't turning up anything."

"Playing analyst again?"

"I seem to have a knack for it sir," Langley replied.

"That you do," Solomon admitted. "Very well, I'll grant you access, but EVA's going to monitor exactly what you look at. Don't try using this as an opportunity to dig into other matters."

"Yes sir."

"Now, as far as your reports regarding lack of artillery, I agree it's a serious matter. And while I know you'd prefer to lead the team looking into it, I'm afraid I can't spare you from the field. I will make sure you get regular progress reports and permit you to send in recommendations. Just don't overextend yourself, Will. I need you sharp and ready for anything."

"Understood, sir."

The connection terminated as a dismissal and Langley stood and stretched. After being buried in after action reports for the better part of a day, he was ready to get some real work done.

"Jackson, is the team assembled?" Langley said over the headset.

"Yes sir. They're waiting in conference room 3."

"Right. Give me a few minutes to get down there." Sector Command was way too big for Langley's tastes.

There was a long tradition of separating a region's political capital from the military command. In the case of Europe, military command was in Paris while the politicians hung out in Brussels. While the distance slightly complicated communications between the two branches, it also mercifully kept the politicians from meddling in the affairs of the armed forces. Not that Command didn't have its own share of bureaucrats, with one coming up to him now.

"Sir."

"Colonel Menwell," Langley said stiffly. "Didn't know you were back from the Philadelphia."

"I arrived a week ago sir," Menwell replied. "But you've been busy, so I'm not surprised you didn't notice."

"Is that a fact?" Langley continued walking, doing his best to ignore Menwell.

Menwell's reputation amongst GDI field officers was infamous. A firm believer that officers in InOps with minimal field experience were just as qualified for command as those in TacOps, he had earned the ire of many in TacOps. The disdain was mutual, as Menwell was known to second guess any conclusion a TacOps officer made when it came to intelligence analysis. It was a new incarnation of the old distrust between spooks and soldiers, amplified by the fact GDI was trying to eliminate that distinction. The irony was lost on both men as they both resisted and embodied this merger.

"Sir, I heard you intend to grant access to the restricted archives to a team you've assembled."

"With approval from General Solomon," Langley replied.

That seemed to surprise Menwell as he fell behind Langley for a second. It didn't last.

"Regardless sir, I feel I must make my concerns known. Granting access to that information to more people is not wise. Spreading information so widely risks the sources and-"

"And not spreading it around at all makes it useless," Langley cut him off. "Now while I am aware of your concerns, but as far as I'm concerned, the risks are justified."

"In that case sir, I request that I be present when your team searches through the data."

"For what purpose?"

"To make sure they don't stray into areas outside the constraints."

"General Solomon has already tasked EVA to monitor their searches. Your presence will not be needed." Or welcome.

"I request you reconsider, sir."

"Request denied," Langley snapped. "Your persistence is bordering on insubordination, colonel. My decision stands and you are not going to convince me otherwise. Give it up. That's an order."

"Yes sir," Menwell mumbled, coming to a halt.

With one annoyance out of his hair, Langley made his way to the conference room. Some of the team was indeed gathered, but others were actually back in London and attending the briefing remotely. Nevertheless, all of them came to attention when he entered.

"General Langley, sir!"

"At ease. Have a seat, all of you."

"Yes sir."

Tapping the console, Langley brought up the rather fuzzy image of O'Connor. "Ladies and gentlemen, meet General Richard O'Connor. He's the oldest surviving senior Nod commander, having served back in the war. Despite this, GDI knows almost nothing concrete about him. There are rumors that he served in and even led the Black Hand for a time before moving his operations to Russia. The last time we were able to get a look at him was three years ago, with that photo. And of course, that's where all of you come in. Your job is to figure out where the hell O'Connor came from and exactly who he is."

Silence answered him as the officers gathered absorbed their assignments. A few muffled coughs followed.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" a lieutenant asked.

"Granted."

"Sir, how the hell are we supposed to do something InOps hasn't been able to do for thirty some years?"

"There are still several archives from the previous war that haven't been fully digitized," said Langley. "The SWD in London is one of them. The team currently here in Paris will look through the restricted digital archives while the team in London will begin scanning in the SWD documents. Since the SWD was tasked with shutting down many of the Black Hand's operations in the war, there might be something about O'Connor in them."

"Yes sir." No true soldier enjoyed digging through old musty papers. The lack of enthusiasm was certainly appropriate.

"Gentlemen, I must stress a disturbing possibility," Langley said. "O'Connor hasn't stayed hidden so long because of some fluke. By trying to dig him out, who knows what we might trip. Needless to say, you are not to discuss your work with anyone outside of your respective team, so no communication even between those of you digging through the restricted archive and the SWD archive. Finally, do not allow InOps to meddle with your investigations. They are not privileged to know the results either. Got that?"

"Yes sir."

Caucus Mountains

1400 Local Time

June 18, 2030

"You don't seem terribly concerned," Lelanc said to O'Connor.

The general shrugged. "The fact that Vega failed isn't terribly surprising. All it does is establish Vega's forces as irrelevant in the grand scheme. It's more why Kane ordered the mission that warrants attention."

"And what did Kane send them for?" an officer asked.

"If the intelligence is correct, a second fragment of the Tacitus."

The attending officers and scientists all whispered amongst themselves. Each one knew the importance of the data matrix, but none knew exactly what it was. The mention of a second fragment only compounded the mystery.

"But for now we'll leave it be," said O'Connor. "Dr. Marko, status on decryption?"

Silence answered him and someone cleared their throat, trying to get Marko's attention. She had been sulking ever since O'Connor informed her of Kane's orders. After an hour long screaming session, Marko made it clear she would have no part in the project. It took another hour to convince her to design a failsafe, but that was the extent of her willingness to help.

"Marko," O'Connor said more loudly.

The doctor finally looked up. "Huh? Oh, decryption. It's proceeding fine. We've already found the schematics for the flyer and combined with the ship you took from Cairo, we'll be ready for a test run in a week. Assuming nothing goes wrong, mass production in a month."

Going on as if nothing had happened, O'Connor nodded. "Good. I'll want to be present for the test."

"As you say."

No one dared comment on the tension between the two, if not out of respect for their commanding officer, then fear from the wrath of his mate. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, so the saying went. Regardless, O'Connor continued with the meeting.

"Marzaq lost a large force near Gdansk, which could prove problematic for the German campaign. Has he requested reinforcements?"

"Yes sir. Kane is ordering units from the Middle East north through Turkey. However, they'll need to fight through GDI forces stationed in Greece. There was a suggestion that we could transfer some of our units west."

O'Connor snorted. "Was that made in seriousness?"

"I believe Marzaq knows we won't respond to a request for reinforcements, so he directed it to Kane. However, Kane ignored the suggestion."

"Good for him. Preparations for the Russian campaign?"

"On schedule."

"Then we're done. Dismissed. Doctor, a moment."

The weekly meetings rarely lasted over an hour, if only because O'Connor didn't have to patience to sit through anything longer. For the most part, O'Connor's staff and department heads were left alone to get work done. There was rarely a need to constantly hound and micromanage subordinate, since forcing O'Connor to go that far would usually result in dismissal, at best. Of course, the constant one on one sessions with Marko could hardly be considered micromanagement.

Marko was still seated when all the other officers were out the door. Though she had responded to O'Connor's request, nothing indicated she was paying attention now.

"It seems I've attracted the attention of GDI's Special Warfares Division," O'Connor stated.

That was enough to elicit a response, as Marko's head jerked to face him. "What?"

Tapping his console, O'Connor brought up the image of a GDI officer. "Brigadier General James William Langley, the current head of the SWD."

"Isn't he the one that took out the Gdansk base? I'm sure Kane would be more than happy to help you murder him."

O'Connor shrugged but didn't rise to the jab. "Langley might actually prove useful. He's mostly been operating in Europe, though there was the excursion to Benghazi to take out the broadcast station."

"So you don't think he'll dig up all your secrets?"

"Actually, I might just help him."

Marko blinked, but caught on quickly. "You planning on making him think you're still loyal to GDI?"

"I doubt he'd fall for something that simple," said O'Connor. "But it might be useful to have a competent officer in GDI's hierarchy be aware of me."

"Now are you saying he's competent because he's British or because he's from your old unit?"

"The fact that he leads the SWD should also fill you with confidence. After all, you and your father were rescued by them."

Marko hmphed but made no comeback. "So, why are you telling me?"

"I was wondering if you wished for GDI to know you were still alive."

Her eyes widened, but only for a second before narrowing. Thoughts raced through Marko's head as she considered O'Connor's words. This might well be a test of her loyalties, or something else entirely.

"What possible benefit would you receive from letting GDI know I'm alive?"

"To see who believes it. That would give me a good indication of how open minded GDI command is."

"I see."

An uneasy silence fell upon the two. The tension couldn't quite be called romantic, but the roots were definitely in the uncertainty in their relationship. Perhaps after all these years, Marko was tired of being "Marko."

"No."

Or not.

O'Connor nodded. "As you wish."

While a part of Marko wanted O'Connor to ask why, she knew the man wouldn't press her. She'd have to say it herself. Swallowing her pride, she spoke. "How am I supposed to face all those people after helping you? And don't say that I can because I'm doing the right thing, cause I sure as hell can't be sure of that."

"Why do you need others to tell you whether what you're doing is right or wrong? What needs to happen before you will realize that the only thing that matters is what you think?"

"And when will you realize that not all of us are as selfish as you?"

"I'd say more arrogant than selfish," O'Connor replied without missing a beat. "After all, I have the gall to claim I'm humanity's only hope. Yet you haven't bothered to contradict me or try to prove me wrong."

"I'm still looking," Marko muttered.

"So you are. But I do not claim to be selfless. My actions are entirely self serving, as I am attempting to maintain my current position. But in doing so, I need to ensure the survival and advancement of humanity. I trust human greed over charity to drive humanity forward."

"And some of us can't accept that. I'm a doctor. I dedicated my life to helping others, not to enrich myself. I saw the suffering Tiberium wrought upon people while my father was only interested in its theoretical aspects."

"You kept yourself rooted in reality, in the practical, but you are highly skilled in the theoretical as well. You can see both sides of the Tiberium issue, as a human and as a scientist. That makes you uniquely suited to try and solve the problem."

"And you?"

O'Connor shrugged. "Someone needs to provide you with the resources you need to find that solution."

"So what if the solution I find requires your death?"

"If you have discovered a weapon against Tiberium based life, I remind you of the fact that Tiberium is of alien origin. Who knows what else is out there, and whether Tiberium was sent to this planet intentionally."

"And any weapon I develop to attack Tiberium based life might be useful against this, unknown threat?" said Marko.

"Preciously."

"But that doesn't answer the question. What if you must die for humanity to live?"

"Well, that would be quite the honor, wouldn't it?" O'Connor said with a wiry grin. "I'm a soldier, Sydney. The fact that I may die to complete the mission is a fact I've accepted a long time ago. If this turns out to be a suicide mission, then so be it."

"So you're as tired of living as I am?"

Standing, O'Connor pushed up his glasses. "Tired? Not yet. But eternity is a long, long time to stave off boredom, doctor."

Marko glared at him. "I still think you're an asshole."

"But one you love. If you will excuse me, I believe we both have other matters to attend to."

Giving her a nod, O'Connor walked out of the room. Marko didn't have too long to mull over her largest verbal skirmish with him as her headset activated.

"Dr. Marko?"

Sighing, she tapped it. "Yes?"

"Could you please come down to lab five?"

"Is there a problem?" Marko asked as she stood.

"We've uncovered something odd in the decrypted data. There seems to be an alternate data stream embedded."

Marko blinked, even though no one was around to see her. "What?"

"The data's scrambled, but it's as if the encryption acts as a switch. When decrypted, we have schematics, mathematical formulas, and other information on Tiberium and Tiberium based technology. But there seems to be something else. The encryption seems to create a second data set."

"I'll be right down," Marko said, nearly running out the room. She doubted even O'Connor could have foreseen this development. Now she needed see if this was a false alarm, or if they had hit the jackpot.

While Marko was making her way to the lab, O'Connor was just arriving at the training center. The focus was now shifted to command abilities, with the candidates going through battle simulations. While not entirely realistic, it provided a good warmup before more field training. Walking up to the console of an opposing force commander, O'Connor waved for the man to give up his station. From time to time, he enjoyed engaging in such simulations, especially if facing a skilled adversary. The situation he had inherited fit those criteria to the t.

The candidate was certainly aggressive in trying to exploit any advantage. However, before obtaining the advantage, the two sides had been locked in a battle of attrition. Both forces were rather depleted, even if the advantage was with his opponent. The decision was easy to make. O'Connor began withdrawing his forces, maneuvering them together to form a larger force. His opponent continued pursing, trying to follow as quickly as possible. Taking advantage of this rush, O'Connor struck an enemy formation he outnumbered and smashed it to pieces. This tactic was repeated three more times before the other side was able to collect its forces. By then, the tables had turned and O'Connor was able to whittle away at the enemy units at his leisure.

"I assume this is what you were going to do," O'Connor commented to the trainer he had replaced.

The man grinned. "But of course sir."

The simulation ended moments later and O'Connor looked over at the other console. Candidates didn't know which trainer they were facing and quite a few grimaces appeared when O'Connor took a seat. All who reacted visibly let relief wash over their faces, as O'Connor's opponent was about to let on how she was feeling. In fact, if you were watching her face, you couldn't tell she had just lost. Only the fact that her hands weren't told observers her match was over.

"Bring Qatar over here."

"Yes sir."

The trainer walked over and spoke to her. Her movement was rigid but there was no hesitation. When Qatar was standing before him, O'Connor could see the defiant gleam in her eyes.

"Do you know why you lost, candidate?"

"Yes sir. I overextended my forces, allowing you to divide and conquer."

After Qatar didn't continue, O'Connor spoke. "What else?"

"Sir?"

"My outmaneuvering you may be the most obvious reason why you lost, but there is only so much you can do after issuing orders. You have to trust your subordinates to carry them out."

Qatar didn't need anything else. "Yes sir. Your units, while fewer in numbers, were better equipped and more responsive."

"This simulation was designed to teach you how to fight GDI forces with the manpower generally available to the Brotherhood. Remember this. On average, GDI soldiers are qualitatively better than their Nod counterparts in terms of equipment and training. Assume you are always at a disadvantage and plan accordingly."

"Yes sir."

"Dismissed."

With a smart salute, Qatar returned to her station to wait for the other candidates to finish while O'Connor swerved to face the trainer.

"She has a lot of potential," the trainer said.

"But potential doesn't always translate into ability. Still, Qatar is far too educated to waste as a mere insurgent. Only time will tell whether she'll turn into a proper officer. Slavik had a good eye, picking her out from Marzaq's cells. She has a lot of people to not disappoint. Well, I'll leave you to your lessons."

"Yes sir."

With this little diversion over, O'Connor returned to his office and settled down for more actual work. As the regional warlord, O'Connor had to serve both as the military commander and the civil administrator. With the military affairs in order, it was time to deal with civilian ones. The folders on his desk ranged greatly in topic, but all dealt with making sure people were supplied with the basic necessities of life. There was some truth in Nod helping the masses, but the effort wasn't exactly uniform throughout all Nod controlled territory. Most warlords shoved it off to various subordinates, resulting in pervasive corruption all the way down.

The result, was predictably, a completely unequal society, with Nod becoming the very stratified society it claimed to be banishing. Granted enough food filtered down to the masses to prevent outright rebellion, but the standard of living wasn't much higher than the poverty line, if you were lucky. Checking his clock, O'Connor set an alarm for three hours. That should be plenty of time to get through all this. Even if it wasn't, he couldn't very well stand up the good doctor. Wouldn't be very gentlemanly of him.

Normandy, France

0800 Local Time

July 15, 2030

"Sir, if I may, what are we doing here?" Oxanna asked. "We still haven't received any orders."

"Patience, Lieutenant. Kane wouldn't have sent us here without a good reason." Checking the time, Slavik turned to the pilot. "Takes us through the tunnel. There shouldn't be another sensor sweep for at least an hour."

"Yes sir."

"Our target is in England?"

Slavik nodded. "We will receive further instructions once we arrive. According to our intelligence, GDI will soon be conducting a test of their newest weapon, the Mammoth Mark II."

Oxanna grimaced. "I wasn't aware they were so close to completion."

"It matters not. GDI won't get the chance to unleash it upon us."

"Sir, incoming transmission from battlegrid response."

"Put it through."

Kane appeared on the main monitor and got to the point quickly. "I'm aware that currently we have nothing in our armored arsenal that can stand up to the Mark II, so I'm lending you a squadron of attack fighters from my elite guard. I want you to destroy the Mammoth prototype GDI has constructed. They're praying it's their salvation. Remind them whose side the gods are on."

"Yes sir."

"O'Connor is still bringing mass production online, so try to avoid loosing any of the Banshees."

"Understood."

Having dispensed his instructions, the transmission cut out. The display wasn't empty long as additional information filled it up. What information the Brotherhood had managed to gather scrolled by.

"Railguns," Oxanna muttered. "So GDI has finally perfected the technology."

"Not entirely, but enough to mount them on that monstrosity of a walker," Slavik corrected. "We're fortunate that it isn't widely deployed."

"Will the Banshees be a match for it?" While a member of the Black Hand, Oxanna still wasn't privy to all the details about Nod's latest weapons. Plenty of rumors had circulated about this mysterious flyer, but few there were few eyewitness accounts of it in action.

"GDI isn't the only ones developing new weapons," Slavik said confidently. "Apparently General O'Connor has been working on an advanced fighter armed with plasma weapons. No matter how powerful this Mammoth is against armor, it is still vulnerable to an attack from above."

"Sir, we have arrived in England," the pilot said. "ETA to mission zone, thirty minutes."

"Good. Are our agents in place?"

"Yes sir. We should be receiving a video feed of the test now."

What they got couldn't be termed high quality, but was sufficient to get a good view of the prototype. From there, there was nothing to do but wait.

GDI Atlantic Proving Grounds, Location Classified

0900 Local Time

July 15, 2030

"This is almost decadent," Langley remarked as he sipped from his wineglass.

"If you say so sir," Jackson said.

Looking over at Jackson, Langley mentally echoed what she really meant to say. And like any good subordinate, she hadn't said it. Still, there were worse ways to spend the morning. As a one star, Langley was the only brigadier present. The Mammoth Project had a lot of bigwig supporters and most were present to witness the demonstration. Solomon was still up in the Philadelphia and would be watching remotely, but besides him, everyone else was here. Even the various Directors on the Council were present.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a colonel said. "If you would please come to the observation deck. The Mark II demonstration will be commencing shortly."

"Well then. Let's go see the Mark II shoot up some rusting hulks."

It was a good thing Langley was out of earshot, for otherwise he would likely be subject to another lecture about the magnificence of the Mark II, even though he had worked on the project. Lieutenant General Keller, the head of the program, was especially proud of the end result and Langley often found himself at odds with the man over design decisions. It was only with great reluctance and he backing of General Solomon that Keller finally acceded to Langley's recommendations.

With so many people present for the demonstration, Langley was lucky he ranked high enough to warrant a seat. Jackson wasn't so lucky and stood in the back. Even this far away they could feel the vibrations as the Mark II lumbered their way.

"Good morning ladies gentlemen," a voice said over the intercom, "and welcome to the Mammoth Mark II prototype demonstration. Today we'll be putting the Mark II through a series of tests to demonstrate its weapons systems."

Just as the speaker finished, a whoosh could be heard and suddenly a Nod buggy exploded. Everyone look out, trying to see the giant. Even that far away, the Mammoth had been able to hit its target with devastating effect. A full fifteen seconds later, the school bus not too far off met the same fate. As impressive as that was, the long wait also had an ominous side. However, no one seemed to notice as the walker stepped before the observation deck. It fired again, this time blowing a hole through a Tick Tank. Though smoke rose, the Nod vehicle refused to go down so easily. It took a second shot to blow it apart.

"While the Mark II is highly effective against land targets, it is also well equipped to handle aerial threats."

From the airfield, a remote controlled Orca fighter appeared. It hovered and began unloading missiles on the Mark II, which responded in kind. The Orca was armed with live munitions and explosions rocked the prototype, but it withstood the blasts. The Orca wasn't so fortunate as the Mammoth's missiles smashed into it. Seconds later, the fighter was a burning hulk flaming down onto the earth.

"That concludes the Mark II demonstration."

Applause broke out in the deck and Langley joined the standing officers. After a few moments, it finally died down and the dignitaries filed back to the reception area. Most offered Keller congratulations, though a few officers also sought out Langley.

"General Langley."

"General Cortez, General Khalid." A lieutenant and major general respectively, the two men were also good friends of Langley. "I hope you enjoyed the demonstration?"

"It was certainly enlightening," said Cortez. "After all, we've heard so much about the Mark II, but this was the first time I've had a chance to see the technology in action."

"The destructive power is quite impressive," said Khalid. "However, the cooldown time worries me somewhat."

Cortez nodded in agreement. "Yes, and the positioning of the cannons themselves. It creates a blindspot right in front of the Mark II and also requires it to face its targets."

A grin crossed Langley's face. "Sirs, does this mean you've read over my analysis of the Mark II's design?"

"Why, we're just making some very obvious observations," Cortez said innocently. "General McNeil didn't bother coming?"

"He wasn't invited, sir," Langley replied. "The only reason I was included was because of my advisory role with the project."

"That's rather surprising," said Khalid. "One would think proving the value of this weapon to the primary field commander would be at the top of General Keller's list."

"Keller has his own way of getting things done," said Cortez. "Still, the Mark II is an impressive beast. Even with its weaknesses, Nod will be hard pressed to find a counter."

"Let's hope so," said Langley. "With the recent uptick in Nod activity, we'll need all the help we can get."

At the mention of recent events, Langley noticed both generals tense up. Did they know the cause of the resurgence? Before Langley could try probing, alarms went off.

"Attention, would all guests please report to the shelter. Attention, would all guests please report to the shelter."

"What the hell?" Cortez muttered. Looking around, everyone else was equally confused. Everyone, except General Keller, who was now gone.

"Sirs, technically you two rank Keller," said Langley. "We could go down to see what's going on."

Technically, that was true. While Cortez was a three star like Keller and Khalid only a two star, the two officers held far more significant positions than being the lead of a weapons R&D project. Cortez was for all intents and purposes the commanding officer of all GDI bases and outposts. Only space based forces, a few special units, and those under the direct command of field commanders were outside his jurisdiction. As for Khalid, by all rights he should have been a lieutenant general. The man had built Space Command into what it was today. However, seniority issues and the reluctance of certain factions within the GDI government and military to see Space Command elevated even higher stood in his way, for now. Still, most people treated Khalid as if he were a three star.

While the politicians and bureaucrats filed to the shelter, the three generals proceeded to the command center. The atmosphere was surprisingly calm, with Keller at the center of it all. He was quickly joined by the three.

"Generals," Keller said. "I believe I requested all guests evacuate to the shelter."

"And I was never one for hiding," said Cortez. "What's going on, Keller?"

"Yes sir," Keller replied curtly. "We're detecting a Nod force two clicks outside the base. I've already sent fighters to scout the situation, but it may be nothing."

"A Nod force shows up this close to the Mark II's demonstration?" said Cortez. "That doesn't sound like a coincidence to me. They're likely here to gather intel on it."

"Even if their objective was to destroy the prototype, Nod doesn't have anything to match it," said Keller. "We'll crush them shortly."

"You intend to deploy the prototype, sir?" Khalid asked.

"What better way to silence the doubters?"

Langley remained silent, if only to avoid being insubordinate. Still, at least this opportunity would put the Mark II through a real world scenario. Now he just had to hope Keller didn't try sending it out by itself.

"Sir, fighters have located the enemy. It's a fairly large force sir, composed of both Tick and Stealth Tanks, with assorted scouts."

"Status on the Mark II?"

"They're still repairing the damage it took from the Orca, sir, but they can deploy it within twelve minutes."

"Do so. Assemble an escort of Wolverines and MLRSs."

"Yes sir."

"No Titans," Langley muttered to Cortez, who nodded but remained silent. It seemed Keller was determined to prove the Mark II's abilities against armor.

Walking over to a console, Langley looked over the shoulder of the operator. The radar displayed the large force to the southwest, along with a few Nod air units hovering about. From their signatures, they appeared to be Harpies. It was a good idea, assuming Nod had strapped missiles to them, to attack from the air. However, this wasn't enough.

It didn't take long for the Mark II to lumber out of its gates. The Harpies had already buzzed the base a few times, though not without impunity. At least one was now a flaming wreck. As the GDI units moved out, the Harpies turned their attention to it. It was a futile effort as the Mark II and its escorts made short wok of them.

"They'll likely try to attack it from behind with Stealth Tanks," Langley commented.

"He's maintaining an open line of fire in front of the prototype," added Khalid.

Without nothing to do, the three generals could only watch and wait as the Mark II began engaging the Nod units. Buggies tried maneuvering around the giant, only to run into its escorts. Those that were too slow were pelted by the prototype's chaingun. The few Tick Tanks present opened fire, aiming for the legs. However, one got too close and was smashed to pieces by the railguns.

Watching the engagement, Langley couldn't help but feel nervous. "That force was far too small to seriously challenge the Mark II."

"Maybe they really are here just to gather intel on it," said Cortez.

As the Nod units were torn apart, Langley almost agreed with him. Almost.

"Sir, unidentified air units incoming! They're moving incredibly fast!"

"What!?"

The officer was thrown off for a second with four generals responding to his alert but gathered himself quickly. "Air units incoming from the southwest. They're moving even faster than our Orca fighters."

"Maybe Nod dug up some old jet fighters from the last war," Langley suggested. That was entirely possible, as the Brotherhood had managed to get their hands on the highly advanced F-22s in the last war. This was also highly problematic for the Mark II's rather limited AA capabilities. "Sir, I recommend you pull back the prototype."

"The MLRS can handle the fighters," Keller said. "We still have a battle to finish."

"Fighters in visual range. What the?"

The composite image that appeared on the screen gave pause to everyone. That hesitation proved costly as the fighters raced in and unleashed a torrent of greenish fire.

"Three MLRS are down! Mark II has sustained moderate damage."

"They're coming around for another pass!"

Whatever those things were, their weapons were incredibly powerful. The green bolts splashed across the armor of the Mark II, scorching and burning it away. Missiles leaped into the air after them, but a series of maneuvers quickly lost them. The third pass sealed the doom of the prototype, as it buckled and came crashing down. Explosions rippled across the hulk and filled the otherwise silent command center, for no one could find words to describe the sight.

End of Chapter 4

I suppose the question now is, who the hell is O'Connor? I think it's fairly obvious who Marko is though. Anyways, I fucked up on the dating in the previous chapter. I'm uploading a cleaned up version with this one. A shorter chapter, but we're moving along nicely. Only two more months before September 30.

Z98


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Shockwaves

_Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary._

_It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body._

_It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things_

_Winston Churchill_

General Assembly Complex, Manhattan

1500 Local Time

July 20, 2030

"General Langley! General Langley!"

Voices of reporters mixed in the air as they tried to get a response, as unlikely as that was. Still, that didn't stop them from shouting out questions and pressing forward.

"General Langley! What will your response be to the inquiry! General!"

Langley almost snorted at that. As if he would tell reporters how he would answer the questions of the committee. It was bad enough he was getting drawn into this investigation, especially with the committee members using his analysis of the Mark II's design flaws as "proof" of their misgivings. Now, he had reporters trying to catch a scoop hounding him. At least the soldiers guarding the complex were doing a good job. Dozens of them surrounded Langley, acting as a protective screen as he walked into the building. The complex was originally built for the old United Nations GA. After GDI became the world government, it inherited the old UN headquarters. Now, the political center of power was based here.

"Sir, this way please," an attendant said to him. After navigating a series of hallways, Langley was lead into a waiting room. "The Committee is still speaking with General Cortez. Please wait until they are finished."

Taking a seat, Langley sighed. He really had better things to do than take part in some politician's witch hunt. Fortunately, an incoming transmission distracted him from any further thoughts on the matter.

"Sir," Jackson began. "The SWD team has found something that you should see."

"Something related to our elusive target?" Langley queried.

"Yes sir. Shall I patch you through?"

"One moment." Putting on his headset and switching the encryption didn't take long. "Go ahead."

There was a beep and another voice began speaking. "General, as you suggested, we started digging through the papers dealing with the Black Hand and found an oddity. Are you aware of a unit known as the Dead 6?"

"Special operatives who were officially KIA for plausible deniability reasons," said Langley. "The unit was deactivated and the members retired. What about it?"

"Well, some of the earlier papers proposing the unit's formation call it the Dead 7. There was a seventh candidate, but there isn't much on him. He's only referred to by a codename, Rock. We looked through other papers around the time the unit name was changed to the Dead 6 and found a reference to someone called R O C. It seems he was given an assignment involving the Black Hand, but we haven't found any details yet."

Langley stiffened. "What are you suggesting, lieutenant?"

"I'm not entirely sure if there's a connection, sir, but the letters in the codename is quite a coincidence."

That they were. "Was this information in paper form, or digitized?"

"Paper, sir. From the looks of it, no one's been through them for years."

"I see. Continue your search, lieutenant. You just might be onto something."

"Yes sir."

As the transmission terminated, the attendant entered again. "They're ready for you, General."

Into the spider's nest. That was how he felt as he entered the room. The Oversight Subcommittee of the General Assembly Armed Services Committee. A ridiculously long and self-important name. Langley stepped up to the table but didn't salute. These were politicians after all, not soldiers.

"Brigadier General James William Langley," the subcommittee chairman, Arnold Stennis, greeted him. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you Mr. Chairman," Langley said, trying to sound courteous.

"General Langley," another committee member began, "we've called you here today so that you may provide us with your perspective on the Mammoth Project. Your analysis of the design was quite insightful and we'd like you to elaborate."

"Anything the subcommittee needs."

Stennis must have sensed the sarcasm and cracked a wiry smile. "General, in your report, you outlined several flaws in the design of the prototype, including placement of the railguns and the rather limited anti-air capabilities. Could you explain to the subcommittee how these flaws could be taken advantage of?"

"The primary weakness of the Mark II is the placement of the two railguns. While they can rotate vertically, the Mark II must be facing its target to make use of them. As such, a Mark II should always be deployed with sufficient escorts to protect against rear attacks, which was what General Keller did."

"Indeed, but with insufficient armored support," said a subcommittee member.

"Considering the threat it was facing, the Mark II and its accompanying units were more than enough. That force was being wiped out before those fighters appeared."

"At which point we saw just how limited the anti air capabilities of the Mark II were," said Stennis. "Considering the amount of money spent on this project, it's quite a disappointment to see it fall to what, five enemy fighters?"

"We have never encountered these fighters before," Langley stated. "GDI isn't the only one investing in development. The weapons on these fighters are highly exotic and extremely powerful. Even the MLRS units were unable to fight back effectively against it, and they are specifically equipped to deal with air threats."

"According to the project summary, the Mark II was designed to deal with any threat, known or unknown, that Nod could throw at it."

Looking at the subcommittee that spoke, Langley frowned. "No one is prescient. To suggest that one weapon, no matter how powerful, can account for everything, is folly."

The subcommittee member seemed taken aback by the rebuke and struggled respond. Fortunately, Stennis did it for her. "We do not expect perfection, General, but with the speed that the Mark II went down is quite disturbing. And not one enemy fighter was destroyed."

"From the after combat analysis, it's been determined that only the MLRS units were equipped to take them on, and they were the first ones targeted by the fighters. Whoever this Nod commander was, he knew exactly how to hit us and what his fighters were capable of. He had the element of surprise on his side, and this time it was enough."

"This time, General?" Stennis pressed.

"Yes, this time. The next time these fighters appear, we will be far better prepared."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"You only get to spring a surprise once, Chairman."

"Be that as it may, we still remain unconvinced of the practicality of the Mark II design," said another committee member. "This attack may well have been a godsend, forcing us to pause and reevaluate the entire program."

For some reason, those words alarmed Langley. "Entire program?"

The committee member seemed to realize he had misstepped and backpedaled quickly. "I am referring to the Mammoth Project, of course."

So that was it. Langley knew several factions within the GA despised the walkers for how expensive they were. In their opinion, paying for them diverted funding from their own pet projects. While Langley was perfectly aware of weaknesses in the current generation, he also understood the advantages they afforded GDI. Like hell was he about to let these politicians get away with that.

"Honorable members of the subcommittee," Langley began, trying to sound as polite as possible. "Despite any reservations I may have presented in my analysis, I personally believe that the Mark II is a success. Nod has no land unit capable of withstanding its power, something they acknowledged by deploying that new fighter. And the fact that they just deployed it is suggestive of several things. First and foremost, they recognize that they have nothing else in their arsenal capable of matching it. Second, since then, we have not seen any further deployments of that fighter, meaning it is very likely it's a new weapon that Nod is just starting to roll out, giving us time to develop countermeasures. Finally, the Mark II's power comes not just from its railguns, but also the psychological effect it has with its presence. As a weapon, it has achieved its stated goals. In fact, in light of the existence of this new fighter, I would move that we accelerate deployment of the Mark II. The fact that Nod was capable of deploying such a fighter should lay to rest any doubts that Nod is no longer a threat. The Brotherhood deserves nothing short of our full attention, with all the resources GDI can bring to bear."

While Langley had started out with a calm and even tone, it continued to grow until it seemed to boom in the room. The assistants and the reporters present all stiffened as his voice rose, so that no one was moving by the time he finished. Someone's cough was muffled quickly and people began to fidget. Stennis gave Langley a hard look that seemed to reflect his displeasure at Langley's little speech.

"The committee thanks you for your frank opinion, General Langley" Stennis finally said. "If we need any further information, we will contact you in the future."

Taking that as a dismissal, Langley stood and nodded. The doors opened behind him and Langley turned. He couldn't get out fast enough. Despite his annoyance at the intentions of the subcommittee, Langley didn't dwell on it. The moment he was out, Langley activated his comm.

"Captain, can you get in touch with a former SWD officer, Colonel Nick Parker? Codename is Havoc."

"Yes sir." The wait lasted until Langley was outside the GA complex being mobbed by more reporters. "Sir, I have Colonel Parker waiting on line five."

"Route the connection to my vehicle."

"Yes sir."

Once in, Langley activated the connection to see a grizzled old battleaxe. "Well well, General Langley. So what does the current head of SWD want with an old fossil like me?"

Though Parker was much older than Langley, he still outranked the retired soldier. "Information. How secure is your present location?"

"Why, you think the Brotherhood would take issue with whatever you want to know?"

"Likely. Where's the nearest GDI base to your location?"

"That'd be Langley Air Force base."

Langley couldn't help but smile at that coincidence. "I can be there within the hour. I'll inform them to expect you and set aside a secure room."

"Fine by me. It's been a while since anything interesting has happened." Without waiting for Langley, Parker disconnected, leaving the general alone.

While the jump to Langley Air Force base wasn't long, there were distinct advantages to short flights. With less than a hour on the transport, there wasn't much time to get any other work done. Langley barely had time to review the information sent to him by his research team before landing. True to his word, Parker was there waiting for him.

"You'll forgive me if I don't salute," Parker said, not even bothering to get up as Langley entered the room.

"Even when you were in active service, you never had much respect for authority," Langley said. "I don't see why that would change when you're retired."

That earned Langley a grin. "So, what did you want to talk about that needed to be so hush hush?"

"Your old unit, the Dead 6. Were you aware that it originally was supposed to be composed of seven operatives?"

Parker's eyes wandered as he thought over the question. "Yeah, heard something about that. I think it was supposed to be another guy from the SAS. Alex something. But I only heard it in passing Daryl, about how some guy he served with was also supposed to be with us. He didn't bring it up again though."

This time it was Langley's turn to search his memory. "Daryl. Daryl MacInnis, the sniper?"

"Yeah, Deadeye. He might know something more. I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you dragged me out here?"

"Tying up loose ends, Colonel. Sometimes dead dogs refuse to stay dead."

"Hmph, don't I know it. Well, if you aren't going to tell me, let's just say you owe me a cold one the next time you drop you."

"Fair enough." With a final nod, Langley left the wizened old warhorse to track down another one. "Jackson, see if you can get in contact with Daryl MacInnis and arrange a meeting. Also, have the team search for references to an SAS officer with the name of Alex, or a variation thereof."

"Yes sir." It took Jackson even less time to find MacInnis. "Sir, I've got a location of MacInnis, but arranging a meeting might be tricky. He's currently in a secured treatment center for people suffering from heavy Tiberium poisoning."

"Where at?"

"Liverpool."

"Alright. It'll take three hours for me to get back to England. You have until then to arrange a meeting."

If Jackson felt annoyed with the order, her voice didn't betray it. "Yes sir. And sir? General Keller would like to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

"Understood."

At least this gave him something to do on the ride back. Then again, he had enjoyed not having anything to do on the flight to Langley base. How human he was, to complain about both boredom and activity. Pushing those thoughts aside, Langley boarded the Kodiak and settled down in his private quarters. Getting hold of Keller didn't take long either.

"General Keller," Langley greeted. Even if he was currently facing disgrace over the Mammoth debacle, Keller still outranked Langley. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to, thank you," Keller said slowly. "I saw your testimony before the subcommittee on the news."

"No thanks are needed, sir. I was simply doing my duty by telling the truth."

"Yes you were. And I wish I had listened to you."

"The past is the past, General. We can only look towards the future."

Keller sighed. "After this inquiry is over, I may not have much of a future. Still, despite how persistent you were at times, your insights were always interesting. It was a pleasure working with you."

"You as well, General Keller." What else could Langley say? Keller was man enough to admit his mistakes, even if it was after the fact. Despite butting heads with him, Langley could also admit that Keller was an able soldier. One did not rise to the rank of lieutenant general by being incompetent.

Leaning back into his chair, Langley let out a long sigh. Deciding against doing any more work for the time being, Langley slumped down and tried to take a nap. God knows when he'd get another chance for sleep.

The console beeped again. Apparently he wouldn't be getting any sleep now either. Looking at the display, Langley saw it was a priority message from a GDI base commander along the old German-French border. Though his face remained composed as he read it, Langley's mind was racing ahead. The soldier that was the subject of the colonel's message was from a unit destroyed in heavy fighting in Germany. In fact, Langley should have been deployed with his units, except he was too busy preparing for the damnable testimony before the subcommittee. Still, this was a very interesting development.

A GDI soldier suffering from Tiberium poisoning, being offered a chance to join the Forgotten. Interaction with this mutant coalition was spotty at best. In the Americas, the Forgotten avoided GDI whenever possible and the vastness of the land gave them plenty of space to hide. However, Europe was much smaller and several factions even worked with GDI from time to time. This opportunity might well strength relations with these people, something Langley knew to be important in the long run.

Dictating a quick response and orders, Langley immediately sent his reply. Regardless, it would likely be some time before this showed any results. Setting his console to only beep in high priority situations, Langley leaned back again. He was not going to be robbed of his catnap.

Nod Global Command

Cairo, Egypt

1800 Local Time

July 30, 2030

"To fully ramp up mass production will take another three months at least," O'Connor said to the assembled generals. Again, he was participating in this meeting remotely. "Currently I have five squadrons ready, but they're all from the prototype run."

"We need those weapons faster," said Kane. "What is the holdup?"

"These fighters use some rather exotic technology," O'Connor replied bluntly. "Duplicating the manufacturing process isn't exactly easy. While I can't move any faster, we might be able to expand the scale of the first run."

"How?" Vega demanded.

The question earned the druglord a hard gaze but O'Connor answered. "By setting up additional manufacturing sites. If I only need to worry about building the more complex components and have them assembled elsewhere, we can increase the output."

"And where would these final assembly plants be located?" Marzaq asked.

O'Connor shrugged. "Anywhere, so long as the area is secure and we can get the parts to them."

"That is good to hear," Kane said. "Marzaq, begin a survey of suitable locations in Europe. Another facility will be set up here in Cairo."

"Yes Kane."

Slavik allowed a small grin as Kane passed over Vega. The South American had to know Kane was displeased with his failure in the Bolivian mission, though Slavik still wasn't clear on what the objective was. If Kane gave the order, he was more than ready to take a Black Hand strike team down there and finish what Vega started.

"Marzaq, I also want you to begin construction of a missile base outside of Hamburg. The city is admirably suited for targeting all of Europe. Once O'Connor begins delivering the warheads, I will give you a deployment schedule."

"Understood."

"The time is fast approaching when we will rise once more," Kane said. "GDI must be thrown off balance so when the time comes, they will be too distracted to mount a proper response. We must strike at the head of the snake."

"But sir, the Philadelphia is unreachable," said Marzaq.

"The space station is not the only place where GDI's generals gather," said Kane. "They have regional command centers scattered around the world. Strike at those in stealth and we will decapitate the beast. Slavik, is the Black Hand ready for this mission."

"Yes Kane."

"Excellent. Until our moment comes, I expect all of you to fulfill your duties. Peace through power."

"Peace through power," the others replied.

Once the other officers disappeared, Kane turned to Slavik. "Tally a moment, Slavik."

Sitting back down, Slavik waited for his leader to continue.

"An upcoming operation, of great importance to our eventual victory to GDI is coming up. I want you to personally oversee it."

"I await only your word," said Slavik.

Kane grinned. "I know I can trust you to fulfill your duty. Marzaq may have managed to salvage the situation in Europe by routing GDI forces in Germany, but our position there remains precarious. Should this General Langley take to the field again, I am not entirely certain Marzaq's forces would be a match. Thus it falls upon you and the Black Hand to complete this mission."

"What is the task?" Slavik asked, his curiosity piqued.

"The recapture of the Sarajevo Temple."

Slavik inhaled sharply. The sacred Temple of Nod at Sarajevo, lost to GDI in the last war and nearly destroyed by their blasted ion cannon. Excavation by GDI forces had been going on and off for decades, though apparently they still had not discovered all the buried secrets.

"Our greatest asset lies under the Temple, but retrieving it will not be easy. It is far too large to move by our underground networks."

Now this was interesting. Slavik had no idea what Kane was referring to, but the tidbits pointed to something very powerful.

"I shall deploy immediately."

"No," Kane stopped him. "As skilled and powerful as your forces are, I doubt even they could fight past all the GDI forces stationed in the area. Vega's reinforcements are arriving as we speak, though he will require at least another month to transfer his two divisions to Europe. Together, your forces will launch a pincer maneuver against GDI."

"Understood," Slavik said, forcing his distaste for the druglord aside. The man's sniveling could get extremely tiresome.

"No need to be so tense, Slavik," said Kane. "Your skills are unmatched within the Brotherhood, so I doubt this mission will prove much of a challenge."

Before Slavik could reply, the intercom beeped. Scowling at the interruption, Slavik activated it.

"Yes?"

"Sir, General O'Connor would like to have a word with you."

"Attend to your affairs," Kane said and rose. "I won't keep you any longer."

Nodding, Slavik also rose and left the room. He was back in his office shortly and accessed O'Connor's transmission.

"General," he greeted.

"Slavik. Sorry to pull you out of your meeting with Kane."

"Not at all." The implication was obvious. O'Connor still had enough influence in the Black Hand to know what went on inside what was more or less the center of the Brotherhood. "What was it you needed to talk about?"

"This isn't common knowledge yet, but an ICBM will be arriving in Cairo shortly."

Another surprise sprung. Slavik started wondering whether he himself was getting rusty. Nod missile technology was quite advanced in the theater category, but access to intercontinental missiles was extremely limited. Slavik knew that O'Connor was sitting on the largest stockpile of ICBMs, mostly Russian made. It was one reason the other Inner Circle members hadn't totally dismissed O'Connor as a major power. The real question, however, was how many nuclear warheads were in his possession. The Nod nuclear arsenal was never very large even at the height of their power in the last war, so all assumed O'Connor possessed no more than two or three warheads.

"Yes, it will be equipped with a nuclear warhead," said O'Connor. "Kane wants access to one in case he needs to make a statement."

"Why are you telling me this?" Slavik asked.

"Because I want to make sure nothing happens to the warhead or the missile," said O'Connor. "They'll be arriving separately, with decoys as well. Make sure all of them are moved to the secure bunker outside of Cairo. Last thing I need is for a nuke to go unaccounted for."

"Indeed." Especially so close to Cairo, Slavik didn't add. "I will personally select the soldiers to accompany the transport."

"I trust that you will." O'Connor terminated the transmission.

A nuclear warhead. Slavik wondered how long it took Kane to convince O'Connor to send one here. Either way, it felt good knowing Nod was once more a nuclear power. Now the playing field was once more level against GDI's ion cannon.

GDI Sector Command

Paris, France

1100 Local Time

August 5, 2030

"Anything else?"

"No sir."

Tossing aside the papers, Langley leaned back. "Good thing the team has a vivid imagination."

"If you say so, sir," Jackson said.

Grinning, Langley looked over at his aide. "Now, now, Captain. They've dug up some very interesting information. God knows why it hasn't been digitized."

"The reason may be quite disturbing."

A nod. "Indeed it might well be."

Like every other military and governmental agency, the SWD was supposed to have created digital versions of its archives. Officially, this task was completed fifteen years ago, before Langley assumed command of the unit. Apparently that effort was nowhere as complete as it was supposed to be.

"At least the paper copies themselves are still intact. Too bad we can't say the same for all the public records."

"The thoroughness is impressive, sir," said Jackson. "But all things considered, it might not have been Nod who did this. Considering his assignment, GDI might well have deleted the bulk of them to begin with."

"Yes, you're right." Langley picked up another sheet and looked at the photo attached. "And of course InOps hasn't gotten a clear picture for us to compare. How the hell can they know so little about him?"

The intercom suddenly clicked. "General Langley, please report to the command center. General Langley, please report to the command center."

"What now," Langley muttered.

Paris Command was a massive complex outside of the city proper, as the natives had objected strongly to having an 'unsightly' military base in their beautiful city. While Langley's rank meant he was entitled to a room fairly close to the command center, he wasn't the only general on the base. In fact, even though he was under special assignment, Langley remained subordinate to the base's commanding officer, one Lieutenant General Geharis.

After locking his office, Langley proceeded down the corridor with Jackson.

"I really should try getting down to the Daedalus Complex sometime," Langley said to his assistant. "Check up on how the projects are going."

"Of course sir," Jackson said. "You do seem calmer after seeing her."

Langley chuckled. "There's no fooling you, is there? Well, I suppose that's why you're my-"

Langley might well have finished his sentence, except no one would have heard. The shockwave threw everyone off their feet as a torrent of heat slammed into them. Grabbing Jackson, Langley pulled her to him as he spun around. The two fell back as the hallway seemed to shatter, raining debris on the two. The boom that came after scattered any thoughts in their minds. Blinking, Langley tried to move but felt something pressing on his back. As his sight cleared, he saw Jackson grabbing ahold of him and trying to say something but couldn't hear through the ringing in his ears. Dust soon began to fill his eyes and his sight grew hazy. As it grew darker, Langley smiled to himself.

_So this is the fate of all leaders of the SWD_.

GDI Paris Military Hospital

1500 Local Time

August 8, 2030

"How is he?"

Looking up, Dr. Gabriella Boudreau saw Jackson approach. "Still asleep. If it hadn't been for the armor he was wearing, the shrapnel might well have pierced his heart."

"It might have gotten me too," said Jackson. "The general shielded me the moment he recognized what was happening."

A smile crept onto Gabriella's exhausted face. "He's always had a flair for heroics. But he should make a full recovery, once he wakes."

Once he wakes. That was the problem, wasn't it? Jackson looked at Langley as he slept soundly. It wasn't as if her commanding officer was in a coma or anything, just that all the strain of the past few months finally caught up with him thanks to the bombing.

"Umm."

Both women perked up at the sound. Gabriella was the first to move, even though she had been seated. She was at the bedside in an instant as Langley began to move. Jackson hung back a bit to give the two some space.

"Will?"

Slowly, Langley's eyes opened. They squinted at first, adjusting to the lighting. When they cleared, Langley smiled.

"Well," he croaked. "It's nice to see you, Doctor."

Stroking his face, Gabriella smiled in return. "It's nice to see you too, General."

A cough. "Water."

"Right." Jackson was already there and handed the glass to Gabriella. "Thanks. Here, drink it slowly."

"As the doctor orders," Langley muttered. After he had enough, Langley leaned back again. "How bad was it?"

"Bad," Gabriella said. She knew trying to convince to rest wouldn't work until he heard the news. "General Geharis and most of his staff were killed. Generals Arnold and Walker were also there when the bomb exploded. General Schweitzer was also injured and is still in critical condition."

Langley absorbed the news as calmly as he could. Most of those officers were men and women he had served with. Walker had actually gone through basic with him and he considered her a good friend. To have so many good people die, just like that.

"How did they hit us?"

"We think it was a suicide bomber," Jackson answered this time. "The explosive that was used seemed to have been enriched with Tiberium, which was why it was so powerful."

Alarm spread across Langley's face. "Tiberium?"

"Don't worry," said Gabriella. "You were far away enough to avoid direct exposure."

"Is that why Schweitzer is still in critical care?"

Gabriella nodded slowly. "He was almost to the command center when it blew. But enough questions. Rest. They'll be plenty of time for this after you've recovered."

"Whatever the doctor orders," Langley said, the smile returning. His hand appeared from under the sheets and took hold of Gabriella's.

"That's right soldier." Gabriella planted a kiss on his cheeks and let him go.

The first two days after he regained consciousness passed by quickly, if only because consciousness slipped away so quickly. By the afternoon of the third day, Langley was sick of the food and tried to distract himself by having Jackson sneak in work for him to do. Fortunately or unfortunately, the only things Jackson brought were papers and reports Langley had put off doing. If nothing else, his assistant knew how to manipulate him into getting the job done. Still, that didn't mean Langley wasn't hoping for something else, preferably less spectacular than what put him in this hospital, to intervene. And just maybe someone up there was listening to his prayers.

"Sir, General Solomon would like to speak with you."

Langley grabbed the headset and put it on. "Alright, ready."

The TV mounted on the wall switched channels and the news was replaced by the face of the elder general. What wonders technology brought. With the audio only going to his headset and various other countermeasures to prevent recording or peeping, the setup was secure enough for most purposes.

Langley straightened as the image appeared, immediately regretting it. He probably didn't rebreak any ribs, but it definitely felt like it.

"Stay down, Will," said Solomon. "I don't need you hurting yourself before you've even recovered."

"Yes sir," Langley winced. "What can I do for you sir?"

"A reassignment," Solomon said, the grin disappearing. "Nod really hit us hard this time and we lost a lot of good people. And good friends."

"Yes sir," Langley muttered.

"However, there isn't any time to rest. I'm promoting you to the rank of Major General. You'll be acting as the European theater commander."

When his jaw dropped, Langley didn't know. The first hint that he needed to pick it up was the smirk on Solomon's face. Getting a hold of himself, Langley shook his head.

"Sir, are you serious!?"

"As serious as I've ever been."

"But, but I'm far too junior for such a position!" True enough. Even with his promotion, Langley's rank didn't match with the post.

"You're senior enough," said Solomon. "Most of the people that were ahead of you in the succession protocol were killed, and you happen to be the preeminent officer currently serving in the field."

"And Space Command, sir?"

"I understand your desire to remain part of Space Command, but I need you down on the ground. Once this situation is resolved, you'll be transferred back. You have my word."

And that was the best he was going to get, Langley knew. Then again, the posting was extremely prestigious and might well advance his ambition. At the very least, he was now in a position to make major strategic decisions. "Yes sir."

"Good," said Solomon. "I hear you'll be released within a few days. Get a good rest until then, you'll need it."

The image blinked out, leaving Langley alone again. Mere moments passed before his mind began racing once more and he tapped his headset.

"Jackson."

The wait wasn't long. "Sir?"

"Congratulations, Major. Get the paperwork in order for your transfer."

"S-sir?"

"Like hell I'm losing you as my assistant, and I don't care how many pay grades I need to bump you. And also get Mitchell and Granger. Tell them they're both full bird colonels and that they can stop that betting pool to see who makes it first, since they're both getting it at the same time."

"Y-yes sir." Apparently she was still trying to recover from her own promotion. "Umm, transfer to where, sir?"

"GDI Command Europe," said Langley. "Solomon just made me the theater commander and I'm making you the chief of staff."

An audible gulp could be heard. "Yes sir. I'll get right on it."

"I'll want a preliminary list for the general staff by tomorrow evening."

"Uh, sir, technically several members of the staff outrank me," Jackson pointed out.

"You looking to make colonel already?"

"No sir!" Jackson quickly said. "Just pointing it out."

"Noted. You're still my chief of staff."

"Yes sir." You could almost hear the exasperation. It would be the first of many.

It was another two days before he was allowed out of bed, though Langley got little rest during that time. The door opened to reveal Langley putting on his shirt. Jackson didn't bat an eye and walked in but closed the door quickly behind her.

"It's proper etiquette to knock before walking in on someone," Langley said.

"Duly noted sir," Jackson said as she set down the bag. "Your new uniform, sir."

Taking it out, Langley looked over the suit. "Hmph. Major General Langley. You know, I knew this was coming. Just didn't expect this to be the cause."

"Yes sir," Jackson said softly.

"I suppose I should count myself lucky," Langley continued. "General Locke was assassinated right before his retirement and General Anderson was killed five years ago."

This time, Jackson remained silent. The two former heads of the Special Warfare Divisions met rather violent ends at the hands of Nod forces. Like his present position, Langley ascended to command the SWD because his predecessor was assassinated. Hopefully this didn't become a trend.

"Well, there's no point in dwelling on the past." Langley carefully put on the suit, feeling the stiffness of the armor stitched into it. It was almost comforting to have that sensation there again. "Has Gabriella already left?"

"This morning, sir. She was needed back at the Daedalus Complex."

Letting out a long sigh, Langley straightened. His side still ached and one rib was still broken. The next few weeks were going to be rough.

"Well then," Langley turned, to his newly minted captain. "Shall we get going, Major Jackson?"

"Yes sir."

As Langley walked out, officers all around saluted their new CO. Langley responded in kind, as was his duty. Upon assuming the position of GDI Theater Commander, Europe, these people became his responsibility. Entering the temporary command center, Langley noted the officers present. Some had flown over from SWD command in London while others were survivors of the attack, either through sheer luck or because they were off duty at the time. All stiffened upon seeing him enter.

"Attention!"

"At ease," Langley stepped and stepped to the center of the room. "Colonel Reilly."

"Sir. Welcome to Europe Command. We await your orders."

"Thank you Colonel. I hereby assume command." With that formality out of the way, Langley was now the overall commander of all GDI forces in Europe. "I know the last few days have been trying, and I appreciate all the effort everyone has given. However, the work is only beginning. Nod got us in the guts, but we're not about to go under that easily. So let's show those bastards what we're made out of and pay them back with interest."

Not the most inspiring speech in the world, but he needed to say something. Here were people who had just lost good friends days before. Some hungered for revenge while others were still reeling from the shock. He needed them on their feet as quickly as possible lest Nod try something else while they were all distracted.

Caucus Mountains

1900 Local Time

August 24, 2030

"The European theater commander killed along with two other generals with another badly wounded. I see the Black Hand hasn't lost their touch."

Marko glared at O'Connor. "And that's something to be proud of?"

"Do remember I reconstituted it after the SWD basically dismantled the unit."

"Undoing all the good your old unit did."

"You mean undoing all the work I did," said O'Connor. "After all, you seriously don't think all the intelligence the SWD received was from Obata?"

Marko gazed at O'Connor. "Sometimes I wonder whether you're capable of being loyal."

"Ouch."

"Anyways, if you're done gloating about the exploits of your protégé, there is a matter that requires your attention."

"Right, the data stream you found."

"At least we think it's a data stream. The data's heavily fragmented and a lot of it just seems like gibberish or filler. We've found what appears to be part of an audio file. It's a very small sample which needed a lot of cleaning up, but well, the word is unmistakable."

His patience didn't last long. "And?"

"Gehore."

O'Connor blinked. "My German's a bit rusty, but that sounds like 'belong' or a variation thereof."

"That's what the translator said too. Of course, we could just be imagining it. We'd need more samples before we can verify anything."

"But, why German?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. But, Richard? It's going to take years to piece all this together. At best, the fragments are of whole words. At worst, they're just part of a word. This will require a lot of processing power to try and match them up."

"Whatever it takes," said O'Connor. "This is the first major break we've had in years. But why didn't you find this in the other backup?"

"It was far too corrupted," Marko stated. "Maybe next time you make a copy of an encrypted database, you'll be more careful."

"Hmph. I'll keep that in mind. But soon enough, we won't have to rely on just backups. We'll have access to the original."

"What?" This time it was Marko's turn to be surprised.

"Vega actually managed to get his troops here ahead of schedule. Even as we speak, Slavik is deploying in what used to be Yugoslavia."

"So it's finally starting."

"Finally? My dear doctor, the Tiberian sun has already risen."

A chill ran down Marko's back as O'Connor spoke. There was something unnerving about the way he said that and for a second his eyes seemed to light with madness. The same madness Marko saw in the videos of Kane. The same madness she saw whenever she looked in the mirror.

End of Chapter 5

I'm aiming for a minimum of five reviews per chapter, so do your part!

The inconsistency with Langley's rank will be fixed once I get around to fixing up Bird of Prey. And yes, the position he's currently holding is a tad high for his rank, but in my version of things, GDI's ranking system works somewhat differently. Jackson's rank is also being retconned, so she was originally a Captain instead of a Lieutenant. Not that she'll be staying a Major for long.

This chapter is very heavily GDI, since I wanted to show how the GDI political structure worked. We catch a glimpse of it in Tiberium Wars, but there's only so much you can tell in cutscenes. I'm also realizing that I'm literally cutting these chapters short because I'm too used to my self imposed limits in fanfiction. Let's see if I can break that limit.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Weakest Link

_Discipline is the soul of an army._

_It makes small numbers formidable;_

_procures success to the weak, and esteem to all._

_George Washington_

Croatia

2200 Local Time

August 24, 2030

The Black Hand was notorious for its stealth, seemingly appearing and disappearing out of thin air to sting at GDI. While Slavik knew just how much chance could throw the best laid plans off, he had a good feeling about this one. Perhaps it was the Ion Storm thundering above them, grounding all GDI air and hover vehicles. Or perhaps it was their inability to call for help in this storm that lifted his mood the most. Regardless, the leader of the Black Hand was determined to wreck as much havoc as possible amongst these GDI fools.

"Status?" Slavik said, focusing on the task at hand.

"A preliminary outpost has been established and it appears GDI forces have spotted us," Oxanna replied. "We have already met two attacks attempting to dislodge us."

Slavik nodded. It was about what he expected. "CABAL, analysis of GDI base defenses."

"The entrance to the GDI base is on the other side of the bridge," CABAL said in his ever oily voice. "It is heavily fortified and GDI will likely destroy the bridge before allowing a successful crossing."

"So a direct assault won't work," said Slavik.

"No."

"Perhaps we should look for an alternative route, like when we broke Oberon out from Hassan's prison," Oxanna suggested. "There may be a backdoor into the GDI base."

"Indeed. Order the scouts northeast. Move as quickly as possible."

The display panned out to follow the buggies racing north. Newly discovered Tiberium fields were marked for exploitation, though Slavik took note of what appeared to be fiends burrowed in the ground. Those would have to be killed before he sent any Harvesters. Switching his view back to the base, Slavik was just in time to see an amphibious APC roll out of the water. Infantry disembarked and the squad headed towards his base. They were likely a small scouting force, but Slavik took no chances. Before they were even in range of his laser turrets, he dispatched a force of cyborgs to meet them.

At best, these man-machine monstrosities looked like something out of a horror movie. However, they were superbly suited to taking on enemy infantry. As if to prove this, the lead cyborg let loose with his chaingun and shredded the first enemy soldier in his sights. A bloodied clump fell, almost unrecognizable as a human corpse. The other GDI soldiers quickly ducked, with one of the disc throwers sending an explosive flying at the cyborgs. The blast caused the lead to stagger but the unit recovered quickly. Short of taking out the head or blasting open the very heavily armored chest, a cyborg was nearly indestructible from small arms and explosives.

Bullets pelted the ground where the GDI soldiers crouched. One was a bit too high and a bullet smashed into his helmet, leaving a bloody hole in the process. The GDI soldiers certainly weren't idiots, as one opened fire. His shots bounced off the metal jaw of one cyborg and even managed to knock out an eye. That was enough to temporarily disable the unit, but not by much.

While the GDI soldiers were preoccupied by the cyborgs, Slavik had brought forth a pair of buggies. They raced around the enemy soldiers and came at them from the side. Taken by surprise, the GDI troops fell quickly as they were mowed down by the machinegun fire. As the guns fell silent, the amphibious APC made a run for the beach. Slavik let it go, as it was hardly worth the effort to destroy.

While this little skirmish was unfolding, Slavik's scouts had made good progress. They were well north of their starting position and currently parked in front of an old bridge.

"Sir, the structural integrity of this bridge seems somewhat questionable," came the report. "We should do something about it before trying to cross."

"What do you see on the other side?"

A pause. "It appears to be a small GDI outpost, possibly an extension of their main base. There does not appear to be any major defenses."

Now that was certainly fortuitous. Issuing orders, Slavik marshaled a strike team of engineers, tanks, and more buggies. By the time they reached the bridge, CABAL had already identified the points of structural weakness. The engineers went to work quickly, pouring a quick dry concrete mix used by both GDI and Nod. It was one of those accidental discoveries that both sides found quite useful. While not really suited for massive constructions, the concrete was perfect for patching up buildings and bridges. In less than twenty minutes, the concrete had set and ready for the strike team.

"Eliminate all guards encountered," Slavik ordered. "Lomac, make sure your tanks follow closely behind. I want all of you over the bridge as quickly as possible."

"Yes sir."

The buggies didn't need an encouragement as they shot across the bridge. Stunned GDI soldiers barely had time to turn around when suddenly bullets rained down on them. Most fell from the initial onslaught but a few managed to escape unscathed. Their momentary surprise over, the GDI soldiers fought back and hard. A pair of Wolverines advanced, pelting a buggy and chewing it to pieces. Rifle fire joined them and even a few discs went flying. The counterattack was enough to reestablish the line and the buggies were in full retreat when a Vulcan cannon joined the battle. The base defense was apparently being operated manually, as it missed far more often than it should have. The ion storm was wrecking even more havoc on GDI's electronics than previously thought. Still, whenever it did hit, a buggy was quickly dispatched.

That all changed when the tanks arrived. Opening fire, they blasted apart the Wolverines in their opening salvo. The bullets merely bounced off their armor, though a few disks did manage to bring one of the tanks to a halt. However, the GDI soldiers didn't have time to celebrate their brief triumph as the machineguns on the tanks let loose, hosing them down. The only thing left was the Vulcan and not even its fire was able to chew through the Nod armor fast enough. A series of well placed shots knocked it off its tower and all fighting ceased.

"Secure the buildings," Slavik ordered.

The infantry that finally caught up needed little urging. Storming the barracks and war factory, any attempt at resistance was quickly dealt with. The engineers were quick to access the systems, finding another nice surprise.

"Sir, there are six Titans ready for deployment in the war factory. Shall we commandeer them?"

"Do so."

Despite their many weaknesses, weaknesses the Brotherhood exploited at every opportunity, Titans did have their advantages. Their height meant they could see further than their Nod counterpart, thus increasing their range. With these, GDI would soon be getting a taste of their own medicine, something Slavik would relish administering. As the Titans marched out, Slavik organized them into a single force. Armor was designed to be used concentrated, not split up and spread out amongst infantry. A certain German general had applied that lesson with stunning success against the Soviets in the Second World War. Now GDI would be on the receiving end of it.

To his pleasant surprise, the objective wasn't far away. Apparently oblivious to the possibility of a rear attack, GDI had placed their radar center at the back of the base against the cliff. This very same cliff held the GDI outpost Slavik had just seized and provided an excellent vantage point for raining down destruction. The rest of the action barely warranted his attention as the Titans pounded away, blasting the dish and the building that held it up to pieces. With the communications equipment destroyed, GDI would be unable to call for assistance very quickly even when the ion storm passed. Hopefully, Vega and Slavik would have retaken the Temple grounds and whatever secrets lay underneath in the interim. No, not hopefully. Definitely. There was no failing Kane now.

It was a short trip to Sarajevo, even with all the forces in toll. There was almost no resistance along the way and even when they reached the Temple grounds, only a small GDI base stood in their way. It seemed almost like overkill, all the armor Slavik had brought. Yet he was a trained soldier and understood the need to minimize chance. Still, a baser part would have enjoyed a challenge.

The base was established quickly and everything Slavik needed to raze the GDI base to the ground was soon ready. Despite this, he sent buggies forth to scout the area. With orders to avoid confrontation, the scouts simply marked the paths of GDI patrols and relayed them to Slavik. Inside the Montauk, the Nod commander could almost feel the impatience of his crew, especially Oxanna. They were so close to their objective. As Slavik prepared his next move, an unexpected discovery was radioed in. An unexpected discovery, and an opportunity for some amusement.

"Sir, there's an old monorail here," the voice reported. "GDI placed a gun turret at the end of the line for some reason too."

"Is the engine still working?"

There was a longer pause this time as the soldier investigated before answering in the affirmative. Grinning, Slavik decided to make use of it to wreck some more confusion amongst GDI.

"Get the engine moving," he ordered. "Ram it into the GDI turret."

"Yes sir."

Looking over, Slavik saw an approving look in Oxanna's eyes. The lieutenant certainly appreciated creative twists that hurt the enemy. If he was lucky, GDI would dispatch a force to investigate what had started the monorail and he could ambush it, leaving fewer troops to defend the garrison. His wish was soon granted as a small GDI force appeared on the radar. A pair of Wolverines escorted a single Titan and some infantry. Not a large number by any means, but it was a start. Slavik's own tanks were already in position and his bikes would provide ample distraction.

"Execute."

With one word, the attack began. Tearing out from their hiding places, the recon bikes roared past the GDI force. The infantry were the quickest to respond, ducking and taking positions. The Wolverines turned just as the bikes swerved around for another pass, this time setting off their rockets. The missiles slammed all around the GDI troops, with one even blasting off a Wolverine's arm. The dirt kicked up was more than enough to obscure their view, at least long enough for the tanks to get into range. By then they were already sighted but it was too late. As the Titan's upper body traversed to respond to this new threat, three shells struck it and knocked the lumbering giant over. Explosions tore through its armor and the mightiest of GDI's ground units fell. The rest was a slaughter as more fire pounded the Wolverines and infantry. With no loss to his own numbers, Slavik annihilated the GDI force. This engagement concluded, his own units proceeded north to finish the job.

Alerted to his presence, the GDI garrison was abuzz with activity as Titans stomped about. A full twenty of the walkers were present, a fairly large force all things considered. Slavik's ten Tick Tanks were certainly no match, at least not in an open engagement. Fortunately the Black Hand excelled in unconventional warfare.

"Status on the buggies?"

"Their rigging is complete."

The buggies in question were meant to be sacrificial lambs. Explosive sacrificial lambs at that. Modified with a remote control system and packed with explosives, they would be sent crashing into the walls surrounding the GDI base. With so many breaches, his opponent would be forced to divide his forces to defend so many potential attack points. The initiative would then be Slavik's, to choose where to strike.

"Send them in."

The eight buggies were sighted long before they reached the walls, though GDI forces held their fire. They were likely expecting some sort of attack against the front gates, but instead the buggies circled around. Confused at this, the soldiers held their ground and didn't pursue. While the walker technology helped GDI armor move across almost any terrain, it was also somewhat slow. Even Wolverines were unable to keep pace with a buggy. Apparently still unaware of what Slavik intended, GDI forces remained holed up inside their base. By the time they realized what was going on, it was too late. Explosions blasted open eight separate holes along the GDI perimeter and even more alarms went off. The soldiers scrambled about like ants and Slavik grinned as he watched them. How utterly predictable.

The first of his tanks reached the gates and blasted away, knocking out the turrets quickly. The gate itself was more stubborn and refused to yield. How fortunate he wasn't relying on firepower to bring it down. As the GDI forces responded to his attack, the gate lowered to let them out. Taking this opportunity, Slavik ordered his bikes and buggies forward. The response was ferocious and only three of his units survived running the gauntlet. However, they were more than enough to sow chaos inside the base. Missiles from the bikes tore away at anything in their paths until they were expended. The single buggy sprayed bullets all around and provided a rearguard, both because of its relative speed to the bikes and the fact that it still had ammo left. Having accomplished their mission, they made for the breaches and roared out of the GDI base.

At the front gates, the Nod tanks were locked in a duel with the Titans. Pulling them back, Slavik allowed the GDI forces to pursue. The GDI base commander was obviously getting desperate as he threw all of his Titans. at the ten tanks Slavik had used. This was exactly what the Nod commander wanted. The five Tick Tanks held in reserve surged forward, rolling towards the base. Entering through the breaches and escorted by infantry riding atop them, they opened fire on the remaining GDI defenders. The Nod soldiers immediately jumped off once inside and ran for cover, not all making it. The battle turned more savage as the two sides traded fire inside the base.

Realizing his mistake, the GDI commander tried to disengage his Titans and race back to his base. However, Slavik continued to hound his units, chipping away at them. A third Titan fell, leaving only seventeen to face his fourteen tanks. Slavik was still technically at a disadvantage, though he didn't see things that way. His men were now entrenched inside the GDI base. To drive them out would be very costly, even were he not busy setting charges along the same buildings they used as shields. However, the real prize was still on the other side of the base.

Striking successfully at the Tiberium refinery would end this battle for sure, but getting to it would be difficult. While GDI was throwing themselves uselessly at his troops, Slavik also couldn't advance very easily. Yet there were always other ways. Breaking off four of his pursing tanks, Slavik ordered them north. He had noticed the enemy harvester heading towards that direction before. It was time to either capture or destroy it. Slavik wasn't disappointed, as the harvester was slowly making its way back to the base. With a full load of Tiberium, the vehicle was slowed, but even then it remained a formidable target. All harvesters were heavily armored, as much to protect the occupants and the vehicle itself from Tiberium as to guard against attacks. The opening shots from his tanks barely dented the armor. The pounding continued and Slavik turned his attention back to the GDI base.

The GDI commander was trying to be clever, bringing his Titans about and trying to attack Slavik's forces from behind. It was a good idea, trapping his men in between two front, and might have worked too. However, there were too many holes for the GDI forces to plug and Slavik's men simply maneuvered north. Two large breaches were along the wall, one still under control of Slavik's own forces. As the GDI forces moved into reclaim their base, Slavik detonated the charges and watched several structures collapse.

Taken by surprise again, many of the GDI soldiers were caught in the blasts or falling rubble. Having again reduced his enemy's forces, Slavik was now confident of victory. As he contemplated how to deal with the remaining Titans, his console lit up with another alert. On the other side of the GDI base, his tanks had successfully destroyed the fully loaded harvester, triggering a massive explosion. While it had not reached the refinery, the blast was more than enough to destroy the main gate and leave a healthy patch of green Tiberium in its wake. Finally recognizing defeat, the GDI forces began a withdrawal. Men and women raced out of the few standing structures and moved to join the surviving soldiers just outside the base perimeter. Slavik would have loved to give chase but his primary objective was recovering the Temple grounds. If GDI chose to retreat, that objective was fulfilled. He didn't have the forces necessary for a decisive endgame either, so letting them go was an acceptable outcome. This time. A grin crossed his face. Victory, like always, was his for the taking.

As his topside forces secured the area, Slavik and the Montauk made use of a hidden tunnel that led directly under the Temple. Strange GDI never discovered the place. Perhaps some sort of cloaking device kept it hidden from prying eyes. As they rode along, further instructions arrived.

"Encoded databurst downloading," CABAL reported.

The video appeared on the main screen and showed Kane examining something as he spoke. "The underground hanger you're about to enter houses an alien warship constructed at the end of the last war. The technology inside this ship is more valuable to the Brotherhood than anything that has come before." A sly smile crept over his face. "Return it to me in Cairo."

As the message ended, the Montauk came to a halt before a blast door marked by the Nod insignia. It was an older design, testament to the time when this place was first built. Stepping forward, Slavik waited with baited breath as the doors finished opening. It took a few moments for the lights inside to activate, shining on what was inside for them to behold. Nothing. For there was nothing to behold.

"There's no warship here," Slavik said, confusion seeping into his voice.

"It's gone," Oxanna said, frantically tapping at her console.

A beep sounded, but Slavik was too distracted to pay it heed.

"Incoming emergency message," the other officer said.

"Slavik, are you getting this?" a static filled voice sounded.

Frowning, the Nod commander pinned the voice. "Vega?"

The display was awash in static but cleared up enough to reveal the druglord in some kind of odd chamber. Even with the interference, it was evident he was greatly flustered.

"I borrowed this stupid ship, to settle an old score in South America and we can't control it."

Realization hit Slavik hard. "Idiot."

"We're somewhere southwest of the Great Antilles. Mayday, mayday. Mayday."

The image disappeared as the transmission was cut. Cold fury burning inside him, Slavik resumed his position. "CABAL, inform battlegrid response. We're going to North America."

"And notify Kane," Oxanna added as she glanced back at Slavik. "He will not be pleased."

"If Vega's lucky, he will die in the crash." If he was unlucky, he would find himself at the mercy of Slavik, or maybe even Kane himself. One could always hope.

"If GDI gets to that ship before-" Oxanna began.

"We will locate that craft before GDI," Slavik cut her off. To fail was unthinkable.

Just as the Montauk was a distance away and Black Hand units had pulled back, a transmission on the secure line blinked. Accessing it, Slavik was surprised to see a visibly disturbed O'Connor appear.

"Slavik, what the blazes is this report I'm getting on the battle grid?" the Nod general demanded.

"It's Vega," Slavik reported darkly. "As I said in the report, it seems he's taken the ship and tried to use it for some fool's errand in the Americas. However, apparently he cannot control the vessel."

What Slavik originally thought was a rather intimidating look on O'Connor's face was quickly surpassed by the absolute rage that appeared next. "That pile of shit did what!?"

Slavik knew Kane would not be pleased with the news, but seeing O'Connor's outburst was even more surprising. The usually reserved general was visibly enraged and the sight chilled the Serbian.

"I'm taking a strike team to North America to recover it," Slavik said, trying to mollify his mentor. It didn't work.

A loud crack accompanied O'Connor's slamming of his fist. Slavik didn't know whether it was the desk or the general's hand that broke, but something definitely did.

"Recover that ship, Slavik," O'Connor nearly screamed. "We cannot afford to let GDI capture it."

"I'm aware of how important it is," Slavik began.

"No, you don't," O'Connor stopped him. "The data matrix onboard that ship holds the secret to Tiberium. If GDI gets their hands on it and deciphers it, they will have the power to break the Brotherhood. We need it back!"

The general's statements again surprised Slavik. While he wasn't privy to the details surrounding the ship, Slavik did know it was an important piece of Kane's overall plan. To think the contents of the ship were so powerful was mind numbing. It didn't surprise Slavik O'Connor knew so much, as the general was a survivor from the last war and former leader of the Black Hand. Yet Slavik felt a small annoyance at being kept in the dark over the matter.

"My forces won't fail," Slavik finally said. "We will recover the ship and whatever is on it, even if we need to go through both Vega and GDI."

"I would expect nothing less."

The link terminated, leaving Slavik to contemplate the encounter. The general really was worried. Few things could make him lose his composure and Slavik couldn't recall any personal encounters with an angered O'Connor save this. Once this was over, he'd have a word with O'Connor and see just what this data matrix was. He would also need to impress upon Vega just how much of a colossal failure the druglord was.

GDI Sector Command

Paris, France

1513 Local Time

August 26, 2030

The two GDI colonels saluted smartly as they stepped before their commanding officer. Technically both should have arrived weeks ago, but getting Khalid to release two such talented officers when he had already lost his defacto second in command proved rather difficult. Like Langley, General Khalid disliked losing his best officers to transfers, even necessary ones.

"Colonels Granger and Mitchell," Langley greeted. "Enjoying your promotions yet?"

"Would sir, if you gave us the time to," Granger said with a cheeky grin. The man wasn't afraid to speak his mind, even to his superiors.

Langley gave his protégé a look before speaking again. "At this point in time, the Special Warfares Division remains the frontline unit for actively engaging Nod forces. General Solomon is activating more units, but they'll likely take a week to get combat ready. That's where you two come in."

"Sir!"

"Colonel Mitchell." Langley turned to the man. "You are hereby assigned field command of the SWD's ground forces. Consider your job to be finding and rooting out Nod forces wherever they are."

"Yes sir."

"Colonel Granger. Your job will be to respond to Nod incursions. I know you dislike sitting around, but quite frankly, we lost far too many field officers in that attack. You're filling in for now."

"Yes sir."

"Now, as far as what forces are available for your deployment-"

"General!"

Already resigned to hearing bad news, Langley turned and faced the incoming lieutenant.

"What is it?" he growled.

The tone gave the lieutenant pause but he recovered quickly. "Sir, we've just received reports from the Sarajevo site. They were recently attacked by Nod forces from the north and south. They've seized the Temple grounds and seem to have dug in."

Looking at the situation map, Langley grimaced. "Should have known they'd use the ion storm as cover. Well, what's past is past." Turning the Granger, Langley's frown turned upside down. "Well Colonel, it seems your first assignment has been picked. Take command of the units on the ground. If you need reinforcements, draw them from the other bases in the area and whatever you can take with you without slowing you down."

"Yes sir." Snapping a salute, Granger walked off, leaving his fellow officer alone with their superior.

"As for you," Langley said, turning back to Mitchell. "We need to repulse Nod forces advancing into France. The last thing I need is for the Parisians rioting about GDI putting their beloved city in danger."

"That doesn't seem to be too bothersome sir."

"Would you like to deal with that then while I go out hunting down Nod forces?"

"Uh, no sir."

"Then get a move on it. SWD forces have already been deployed at the old French-Belgium border. Same spot the Germans blasted through in the First World War and the route the Russians tried to take in the Second. Show them we've learned our lesson about that spot."

"Yes sir." A salute and he was off.

In another part of the complex, Granger was already nearing the exit. He passed workers repairing the damage from the suicide bombing and grimaced. A stark reminder of just how badly the Brotherhood could and would hurt them. Outside, it was a short ride to the airstrip and he embarked on the Orca Command unit along with a small detachment of troops. Originally used by General Langley before being assigned the Kodiak prototype, the Orca would serve well in coordinating the counterattack against Nod forces. However, by no means was Granger going to sit back while his men did the heavy lifting.

As the Orca hopped over to the Sarajevo site, Granger checked the status of the surviving garrison. The base itself was basically razed to the ground with few structures still standing. Further south, a larger force remained mostly unscathed except for the destruction of their radar center and an outpost. That would be the site his counterattack would originate.

The Orca landed in the center of the base and Granger walked out in full battle gear. The few soldiers he brought with him would be helpful, but certainly not decisive. The base commander was already there to greet him and saluted.

"Major Evans, acting base commander, sir."

"Major," Granger greeted. "Good job keeping things together."

"Thank you sir."

The original base commander, one Colonel Sanders, had died when the radar center was destroyed. Most GDI bases used the building to house their command facilities so naturally the colonel was inside when Nod forces bombarded it, using GDI's own Titans for that matter.

"Major, organize your surviving Titans and Wolverines," Granger ordered. "I want two forces of fifteen Titans and at least twelve Wolverines each. Get strike teams assembled as well. We're going to retake the Sarajevo site."

"Yes sir!"

The major was hungering for revenge and, from the looks of it, so were the rest of the troops. They ran about and soon enough Granger was at the head of a not so insubstantial force. With the equivalent of an armored company with supporting mechanized infantry, they should be able to dislodge Nod forces up north.

Like all commanders in the field, Granger's helmet had a special HUD that provided a great deal of tactical and even strategic information. He could literally coordinate the entire battle using his helmet, assuming a clear link was maintained with an EVA unit. That was the main purpose of the Command Orca, as far as Granger was concerned. If you wanted to lead your men, you did it on the ground with them, not floating up there in the sky waiting for AA to bring you down.

Issuing orders as he want, Granger climbed into a customized APC that apparently belonged to Sanders. In a little under an hour, the GDI forces were on their way. As they approached the site, Granger received additional updates from the surviving GDI units from the battle. Apparently Nod forces were somewhat more numerous than originally suspected, as the attack had come from both north and south. More survivors reported in, bringing Granger's total strength up to forty Titans and thirty-four Wolverines in terms of armor. Once they were resupplied, the survivors would act as welcome reinforcements.

While on the road, Granger took the opportunity to get some first hand information from Evans.

"What exactly hit you, major?"

"Hell if I know, sir," the major replied. "We suddenly noticed a Nod force on the other side of the river, though they didn't attempt a crossing. The colonel sent some units to scout, but they were almost all wiped out. Further probes were also repulsed so we assumed we were facing one of Nod's elite formations. Next thing we knew, our northern perimeter had been breached and Nod forces had seized our guard outpost. They must have captured some of the Titans parked up there, as that's what they used to destroy the radar center."

"And after?"

"Nod forces withdrew, sir. They destroyed whatever they couldn't take and disappeared. Next thing we knew, when the ion storm finally passed and we could get a clear signal, we detected distress calls from the Sarajevo garrison. But by then, their base had been overrun. We've been getting intermittent transmissions ever since, along with a few orders to retreat."

Calling up the area map in his HUD, Granger noted the positions of the scattered GDI units. To uproot the Nod forces might prove tricky if he wanted to avoid a bloodbath, as this time they seemed intent on staying.

"Sir, satellite surveillance has managed to pick up images of the Nod base and forces," a voice said over the radio.

"Display them." A sharp intake of air could be heard seconds later. "Estimate on total enemy force size?" A rather long expletive followed that. "Alright, request reinforcements from bases 41 and 45. Tell them I need their full complement of armor and air support."

The request was rather large, but even then it might not be enough. To think a legion of five thousand Nod soldiers were camped north of the Temple grounds. Maybe Nod really was on a resurgence. As his requests were approved and forces began to converge, Granger again took a close look at the satellite images. It would be nice if he could just order an ion strike, but even that might not be enough. Time for the shock and awe approach.

With three squadrons in the air, Granger had at his command a great deal of firepower. However, he sorely regretted the lack of Orca bombers. The old F-23 fighters at his disposal were formidable, yes, but did not have the payload capacity of the newer planes. One would think a more up to date arsenal would be maintained for guarding such a high interest target of Nod. Then again, there was little in the way of a civilian population that GDI was responsible for. Priorities, priorities.

Setting up bombing zones, Granger also tasked units to take advantage of the aftermath. A three pronged attack from the south, east, and west would hit Nod forces almost simultaneously. From there, his troops would try to draw out Nod units and outflank any that took the bait. It would be a battle in constant motion but considering the skill of this Nod commander, he had no choice but to risk it.

Reinforcements took longer to arrive than he liked but the battle started soon enough as the fighters made their runs. Hover MLRS units, the fastest ground units in his arsenal, led the follow up. It was risky, using such lightly armored units, but Granger hoped their missiles would have the range to to avoid retaliation. Blossoms of fire filled his display as he received telemetry from the fighters. The strikes were at the peripheral of the enemy forces but did its job. Twisted pieces of metal flew about and and figures scrambled away. Blackened earth was left behind by the blazing napalm as the flames eagerly leaped at anything that could feed it.

The attack did not go unchallenged. Missiles streaked into the sky, following the fleeing fighters. They twisted and turned, matching the movements of their prey. Flashes filled the sky as the GDI fighters deployed countermeasures. One of the most advanced fighters of its time, the F-23 was hardly defenseless and most escaped unscathed. However, two did not react fast enough and met fiery ends. Their wreckage fell towards the ground, though at least one beacon marked the pilot having ejected successfully. He would hopefully lay low until GDI forces reached him, though there remained the risk Nod would go after the pilot in revenge. Forcing thoughts of the man out of his head, Granger focused on the next stage of the attack.

The MLRS units were beginning to unload their missiles, raining down more destruction along the Nod line. Demonstrating good judgment, the Nod commander deployed squadrons of bikes to pursue them. Tanks would have been too slow and buggies did not possess the firepower needed to quickly bring down the Hover units, fragile as they were. Fortunately, the MLRS had somewhere to actually run and headed to their designated zones with all due haste. They continued trading shots with the Nod units and both sides took losses as the skirmish moved about. However, it was the Brotherhood that suffered the most when they ran straight into Granger's ambush. Infantry were lying in wait and as they approached, disks and rifle fire greeted the bikes. Explosions rocked the ground as the bikes crashed, flipped, and otherwise met their end. It was reminiscent of a traffic pileup, though a far more colorful one as their munitions ignited with some help from the GDI soldiers.

"Squads 4, 9, and 12 move in," Granger ordered.

The Titans and Wolverines obeyed quickly and soon began a head on assault of the Nod forces. Unlike the Sarajevo garrison commander, Granger knew fully well how to deal with Nod's faster moving units. The Wolverines flanked their larger brethren and were assigned their own firing zone. Instead of constantly trying to follow one target, they only engaged those in their immediate field of fire, leaving those who escaped to their comrades. The tactic worked superbly, repulsing attempt after attempt to confuse and break the GDI formation by buggies and bikes.

It took the Nod commander surprisingly long to try another tactic. Either Granger's skill had taken him by surprise, or this commander was not the one who engaged the Sarajevo garrison. Finally tanks advanced, a collection of Nod's more powerful Tick Tanks and a collection of older models. This all but confirmed for Granger that the force he was facing now was not the one that decimated the Sarajevo base. A pity, that. Finishing off such a skilled commander would have benefited GDI immensely.

Cries suddenly burst through the static and Granger searched for their source. Cursing, Granger watched as artillery bombarded all of his attacking units. Pulling them back and hopefully out of range, he considered his next move. Not for the first time, Granger felt annoyed that the Juggernaut prototype still wasn't in full production. At the very least, they could have provided counterbattery fire. Tagging the likely positions, Granger called in the fighters again. Most of their missiles had been expended during the initial bombardment, but what they had should be enough. If worst came to worst, they could always revert to their guns, despite the risks of going in so low.

Jumping out of the APC, Granger looked up to see the fighters flash by. They were high enough to be mere specks so there wasn't any roaring of the engines ringing in his ears. However, he followed their movement with his own eyes as they once more jumped into the fray. More missiles launched to greet them but the pilots were skilled professionals. Flipping about and rolling, they let them zoom past. By the time the missiles had turned around, the fighters were already upon their targets. The feed highlighted the artillery units, which were quickly undeploying trying to escape. However, they weren't quick enough as single missiles smashed into them. Now it was the fighter's turn to run. Guns blazing, they blasted anything on the ground and left a trail of destruction in their wake. However, Nod forces were quickly responding and more missiles joined those already fired. This time none of the three pilots had a chance to eject as their planes went up in balls of fire. Still, the Brotherhood did not have long to celebrate as the wrecks fell upon them. The remaining fighters went supersonic and escaped, having achieved their objective at a cost. They would be returning to rearm and refuel, in case Granger needed another daring flyby.

A grimace on his face, Granger moved quickly to exploit his gains. His walkers advanced again, this time reinforced by the infantry that had caught up. They traded fire with the Nod units and losses on both sides began to mount. Still unable to get an ion cannon satellite uplink, Granger would need to do this the hard way. Withdrawing and advancing along the entire line, GDI forces continued chipping away at their opponents. At one point Granger nearly fired his own rifle as an especially daring attack reached his position. However, the additional forces protecting him turned the tide and wiped out the attackers.

Smoke filled the sky, fueled by fires burning across the battlefield. Soldiers took shelter wherever they could, peeking out to get a shot at their opponents. Others moved behind walkers or tanks, but this proved unwise as these vehicles became prime targets. A constant stream of fire from Wolverines forced Nod infantry to keep their heads down, allowing the larger Titans to push even deeper. Their guns roared as they bombarded enemy positions. Slowly, GDI forces were wearing down the enemy's defenses. Not even the hastily erected laser turrets could slow them down, as they were blown apart before they had any chance of hitting the walkers. No Obelisks of Light were present mercifully, forcing Nod troops to engage directly in this slugfest.

More GDI reinforcements arrived until three full battalions were engaged. As the fresh troops came forward, Nod forces continued to be diminished. Their main base itself was soon breached and GDI troops eagerly destroyed everything in their path. When finally the white flag went up, there was but a few handful of Nod units still remaining. They were quickly rounded up and put under guard as Granger came to inspect his prize.

The buildings were still being searched, though so far nothing of importance had been found yet. No, that wasn't quite true. Looking over the exposed head of a dead Nod soldier, Granger frowned.

"Take me to the prisoners," he ordered.

"Yes sir," the sergeant quickly said.

Guarded out in the open and stripped of their gear, the Nod soldiers looked like a sorry bunch. However, anyone could tell they weren't native to this area. Granger's suspicions were quickly confirmed, even without questioning them.

"They're all from Latin America," he said.

The sergeant accompanying him nodded in agreement. "Yes sir. Mexican, from the looks of it, sir."

"How do you know that?"

"I was raised there, sir."

Glancing at the sergeant's name tag, Granger nodded. "Well then, Sergeant Ramirez. Can you see what the hell so many of them are doing here?"

The sergeant fired off a question in rapid Spanish, but none of the prisoners replied. They did all perk up at it though, further confirmation. After trying again, the sergeant shrugged.

"Sorry sir, I don't think I'll be able to get anything out of them."

"Don't worry about it. We'll let the boys in InOps deal with them."

Leaving the prisoners behind, Granger continued his inspection, thinking over these developments. Like all GDI officers, he had a general outline of Nod's hierarchy. If his memory was right, the big fish on the other side of the Atlantic was some druglord named Vega. Even if they were Vega's men, that didn't explain why they were halfway across the world. Moving such a large force wasn't done lightly, suggesting something big was going on. General Langley would need to know about this immediately, lest they be caught by surprise again. The grimace grew. It appeared the Brotherhood was about to become more than just an annoyance.

End of Chapter 6

This is where I'm diverging from the Nod campaign, since the GDI campaign's the canon one. However, we'll still see plenty of Slavik and the Brotherhood.

This is definitely one of my wordier chapters, likely due to the battle descriptions. These descriptions are rather different from the ones in Bird of Prey, as so far we're viewing them from the perspective of commanders. Granger's the closest so far to actually taking part in the actual fighting, but that should change once McNeil shows up.

Truth be told, this chapter was pretty much done a month ago. However, I suddenly got thrown in the deep end with schoolwork and didn't have time to look over and finalize it until now. But anyways, enjoy.

Z98


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Strategic Thought

_A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum_

_shows that faith does not prove anything._

_Friedrich Nietzsche_

American Southwest

0900 Local Time

August 26, 2030

The plane ride had taken Slavik longer than he would have liked but moving something the size of the Montauk wasn't easy. Even worse, finding reliable men on this side of the Atlantic was apparently difficult to accomplish so he only had the few troops he brought with him. Vega's men were proving more and more useless each day and Slavik wasn't the only one who felt that was reflected in their leader. Not surprisingly, O'Connor seized the privilege to voice those thoughts once a meeting was convened.

"You're an imbecile," O'Connor declared.

Vega's face grew red. "How dare you insult me!?"

"Insult you!? You're bloody lucky I don't kill you!"

The threat stopped Vega's outburst cold and he only stared at O'Connor, for everyone knew the leader of the Elite Cadre could make good that threat. It took a while for Vega to recover his voice while the other generals simply looked on. Everyone smelled blood, especially the newcomers. The three newly promoted members were eager to exploit whatever advantage they could and Vega's blunder certainly held great potential.

"Vega," Kane said coolly. "Your error in judgment has cost the Brotherhood greatly. If you prove incapable of rectifying your errors, then I will no longer have need of your services."

It didn't take a genius to understand the implications. Vega swallowed nervously and tugged at his collar. It seemed the druglord was feeling rather warm.

"I promise you, Kane, I will prevent GDI from discovering the ship."

"Do not make promises you cannot keep," Slavik sneered. "My forces have already eliminated a GDI patrol that came to investigate."

To this Vega had no rebuttal and fell silent. His gaze fell, unable to look any of the other generals in their face.

"GDI must be kept too distracted from investigating further," Kane ordered. "Attack their bases in the region and keep them pinned down. Do whatever you must, but we must recover the technology in that ship."

"What is your progress?" O'Connor directed that question to Slavik.

"We've recovered the database and are preparing to ship it out."

A satisfied smile from Kane answered Slavik. "Excellent. This is actually fortuitous timing, your being in the Americas, even if an unfortunate turn of events brought you. The mutants have organized themselves under a leader, a man named Tratos. I have need of him, alive. Capture him for me."

"Yes sir."

Glancing sideways, Slavik noticed a frown cross O'Connor's face at the mention of this mutant. Like the other Nod leaders, O'Connor was sure to know of this man. Rumored to be a doctor before his mutation, Tratos had offered hope to the disenfranchised mutants. He was a powerful symbol and his death would only make him a martyr. On the other hand, holding him could be a powerful bargaining chip in the Brotherhood's favor if played properly. Yet Slavik doubted that was why Kane wanted his capture.

"Where do you intend to hold Tratos after capturing him?" O'Connor asked. "The mutants are sure to try and free him."

After giving O'Connor a look, Kane turned. "Vega, do you wish to restore yourself to my good graces."

"Of course Kane!"

"You maintain a facility to create cyborgs. I want a secured workshop set aside for Tratos, isolated."

"Do you believe Vega's men will be enough?"

The druglord fumed at O'Connor's insult but kept quiet. Kane on the other hand nodded thoughtfully.

"A valid point. Are you volunteering the services of the Cadre?"

"Or the Black Hand," O'Connor said, looking over at Slavik. "At the very least, we should verify the security of the complex."

"Agreed," Slavik said. "I would hate to have all the effort wasted after I delivered the target."

Vega was most definitely going to be a punching bag for the rest of the Inner Circle for the foreseeable future. However, there was nothing he could do but endure the pointed statements. With the matter settled, the screens went dark leaving Slavik alone.

Before the meeting, Slavik had received a rather extensive briefing from O'Connor regarding the importance of the Tacitus. It was a sign of confidence that such information was released to him and Slavik was surprised just how little he knew about the early Tiberium research projects conducted by the Black Hand. O'Connor had certainly been thorough when he scrubbed the Black Hand's database right before he handed command to Slavik. He would need to step up efforts to recover the data, if that was even possible. In the meantime Slavik would need to rely on other intelligence sources and whatever Kane deigned to reveal to him to fill in holes.

The walk to the bridge was all too brief to allow for further musings. As Slavik entered, he immediately began issuing orders.

"Change of plans. We won't be returning to Europe just yet. CABAL, location of the mutant encampment where Tratos is residing."

"Location uploaded."

The AI was reacting faster and faster to Slavik's queries. Perhaps it had been eavesdropping on the transmission. Though if it could take the initiative to do that, what else might it do?

"What business do we have with the mutants?" Oxanna said, contempt dripping from her voice.

"Kane has entrusted us with the capture of the mutant leader. A complement of Vega's men will provide support, but the heavy lifting will have to be done by us."

"Are we sure they won't be more a hindrance?" Oxanna suggested.

Slavik frowned. That was certainly a possibility, but. "They will do their job. Though their leader may be incompetent, they are still members of the Brotherhood."

"As you say."

Looking over, an eyebrow rose. "You don't sound entirely convinced, Lieutenant."

"Too many of Vega's men partake in eyecandy. We're just as liable to get drug addicts as we are competent soldiers, more so actually."

It was a thought that had crossed Slavik's mind as well. "Even incompetent soldiers can act as diversions. So long as they keep the mutants busy, we will achieve our objectives."

"Yes sir."

The discussion concluded, Oxanna turned her attention back to her station. The Montauk rolled along the tunnel network, heading north. In the meantime, Slavik reviewed the intelligence on the mutant base. All things considered, the mutants were surprisingly well equipped. A combination of current and antique weapons comprised their arsenal so Slavik was likely to face a rather mismatched force. Then again, even a musket ball could kill if it hit the right spot. What was more worrying was the defensive perimeter. It seemed the mutants had even acquired modern anti-air missiles and, more impressively, an Obelisk of Light. These people were certainly resourceful, Slavik admitted. But all that firepower was for naught if they couldn't make effective use of it.

Judging by the layout of the base defenses, the mutants were amateurs playing at soldier. While there were several well fortified positions and the terrain was exploited where possible, there were sufficiently large holes that Slavik could bypass most of them. Once inside the settlement, the Black Hand could wreck havoc at will while the mutants would be forced to both protect their own people and fight Nod forces. It was a very disadvantageous position to be in, one Nod often did their best to force GDI into. The most difficult part would be making sure Tratos didn't escape. However, if Slavik's judge of character was on, there might be a way get the mutant to surrender himself. After all, what leader could stand by and watch his people be massacred?

"Sir, Vega's forces are almost in position. Once we unload our own troops, we'll be ready to strike."

"Make sure Vega's commander understands that he is to follow my orders to the letter," Slavik said. "If he commits any mistakes that interfere with achieving the mission objective, he _will_ suffer the consequences."

"Yes sir," Oxanna said, sounding satisfied.

The overhead display gave Slavik a bird's eye view of the situation, or as much as was possible with Nod's more limited communications network. Still, he could make out the positions of his own units and those of the mutants. As Vega's forces advanced from the southwest, Slavik's own troops stayed low and waited for their opportunity. As ordered, Vega's men made their approach very visible and the mutants moved quickly to engage. The ferocity with which they threw themselves into battle was surprising, and for a moment it looked as if the Nod forces would buckle and scatter. However, the line quickly recovered and the two sides began trading blows.

Undaunted by their failure, the mutants began moving forward heavy armor in the form of Mammoth Mark Is. This caused Slavik to lean forward as he watched the behemoths engage the smaller Tick Tanks. Despite their age, the Mammoths were still powerful tanks and with their dual cannons seemed nigh unstoppable, or so it seemed. Examining the situation more closely, Slavik noted several Tick Tanks scoring disabling hits against their opponents, while others survived direct hits to their frontal armor by twin shots. It seemed the advances in tank design were compensating for the Tick Tank's lighter armor and lower caliber gun. Still, the Mammoths were powerful opponents and forced Nod units to flee. However, once the engagement became a battle of maneuvers, the situation quickly stabilized.

Taking advantage of their superior speed, Nod forces moved to flank the Mammoths. Bikes cut through the formation, unloading missiles whenever the opportunity presented itself. Suddenly, the Mammoths responded in kind and several bikes were soon racing for their lives. Slavik growled. The actions of the Nod commander were sloppy. He should have known Mammoths were capable of firing missiles and acted accordingly. Still, with the majority of mutant forces engaged outside the settlement, Slavik was now free to begin his own operations.

"Strike team, are you in position yet?"

"Initiating surfacing now."

On the map, signals popped up showing several subterranean APCs appearing. Through the radio, Slavik could hear the ground breaking apart and the screams as his men charged out. At least one of his soldiers was equipped with a camera so a live feed was streaming in, providing a ground level view of the action. There were few mutant soldiers present, allowing the Black Hand free reign as they targeted everyone in sight. The fact that his men were gunning down unarmed civilians didn't faze Slavik in the least. He had personally participated in such acts before, along with causing horrendous collateral damage in various bombings during his days as a Serbian freedom fighter.

"Begin broadcasting," Slavik ordered.

A brief pause before Oxanna replied, "Ready."

"This is the Black Hand of Nod. Tratos, surrender yourself immediately or we will level this settlement and everyone in it. You have five minutes." A nod and the transmission ended. "Have our forces take up positions. Cease executing the mutants and take hostages."

"Yes sir."

The efficiency with which they moved allowed the Black Hand operatives to quickly cut off any mutants trying to escape. Two more APCs surfaced and more Nod soldiers poured out. The mutants weren't taking this lying down and even seemingly unarmed civilians suddenly took out knives or pistols. Those that did so were mowed down without hesitation. Within minutes, a dozen roughed up mutants were secured as hostages while even more lay dying or dead on the streets.

"Sir, Vega's forces report that the mutants are trying to withdraw."

"They must not be allowed to do so," Slavik stated. "Continue engaging them and do whatever it takes to keep them pinned down."

The order relayed, Slavik turned his attention back to his own men. While the majority stayed close to the APCs guarding hostages a good number was fanning out through the settlement. The chance of Tratos escaping or being forced to escape was far too high. The search teams simply shot anyone they found, be they men, women, or children. Charges were attached to buildings and detonated once they were far enough away. By now a ring of destruction followed the Black Hand operatives in their wake. The more terror they instilled the better.

"Sir, we've found him!"

Looking at the video feed, Slavik saw a man hunched over. Another soldier dragged him up and his face became visible.

"Identity confirmed. It is Tratos," CABAL reported.

"Please, take me if you must, but leave my people be!" Tratos cried out.

"Whether we leave this place in any worse condition than it already is depends on your cooperation," Slavik said over the radio. "Lieutenant, get him evacuated immediately."

"Yes sir."

Not even giving Tratos a chance to walk, one of the soldiers lifted him up and carried him as they ran. Surprisingly no one gave chase, perhaps having been ordered to not attempt any foolish rescue. With his prize secured, Slavik ordered Vega's forces to withdraw. He was tempted to execute the hostages but that would only make Tratos less cooperative. For now, they would be left to pick over their dead.

Elite Cadre Central Command

Ural Mountains

1900 Local Time

August 26, 2030

As he walked through the recently completed facility, O'Connor pondered his next move. Interfering with Slavik's mission wasn't likely to work. No matter how well defended Tratos was, the Black Hand would succeed. It was simply a matter of how large the body count was after the fact. If Tratos was smart, he would surrender quickly and avoid a wholesale massacre. Vega on the other hand still remained the weakest link in all this. But even then, the mutants might not have the power to take on such a large facility. No, the only option was getting GDI to free Tratos. The only piece left was how to inform GDI without tipping his hand. Well, the mutants certainly would want their leader safe and sound. They might as well play a part in securing his freedom.

However, all that would need to wait until O'Connor finished his present business. He had not come just to inspect his new command center after all. The two soldiers standing guard snapped to attention as he approached and saluted. O'Connor acknowledged them with a nod and entered the room. Or more appropriately, the mess hall. For this event banners with the Nod insignia were draped against the back wall with a large table beneath them. There sat members of his staff with the center reserved for him. Before them were the surviving members of the Cadre training program, all thirty-two of them. At the top of the class was, unsurprisingly, Qatar. The woman demonstrated a ferociousness that reminded O'Connor of himself when he was younger. She would be a valuable asset to the Brotherhood, assuming her ambition could be kept in check.

As O'Connor strode down the space between the two long tables, his officers and the graduates all stood. The seating had been arranged so that all would face him as he walked, all the better for him to catch their faces. Rounding the side, O'Connor took his position and picked up his wineglass.

"Ladies and gentlemen. You have endured much these past few months. When you first arrived, we could not tell whether you were a straw just waiting to be snapped or clay waiting to be molded. Now, you can proudly call yourselves Cadre. And because you are Cadre, when the time comes when your back is lined up against the wall, I expect you to forgo the blindfold. To the Brotherhood."

"To the Brotherhood," came the response.

After taking a long sip, O'Connor seated himself and the meal was served. The comforts now being enjoyed were considered by some contrary to the egalitarianism preached by the Brotherhood, but in O'Connor's view a society of equality did not require forsaking luxuries. The suggestion that it was better to be poor but equal than rich and segregated was absolute bollocks in O'Connor's opinion. After all, what was the point of being civilized if you couldn't enjoy the benefits?

"A very promising batch of recruits," O'Connor said to his officers. "I especially enjoyed how they pulled a fast one on you, Lelanc."

The officer on O'Connor's right coughed politely as he set down his own glass. "I'd prefer not to be reminded of that, sir. Though Qatar's creativity in that maneuver was rather frightening."

"Ah well, it keeps all of us sharp, just so we don't end up embarrassing ourselves in front of our students," O'Connor said with a grin. "We'll see if she can survive her tour of duty."

The officers closest to O'Connor all grimaced, though only Lelanc voiced his thoughts.

"Sir, are you sure assigning her to the Black Hand is wise? Her skills as a field officer are quite impressive, but that does not necessarily translate to the kind of operations the Black Hand carry out."

"So much the better if she can learn to function in that environment," said O'Connor. "And Slavik won't waste her talents. He knows I don't turn out mindless fanatics for suicide missions."

The other officers didn't argue the point, though that also didn't mean they completely agreed.

"For now, focus on the Russian campaign," said O'Connor. "Moscow will fall and we will drive GDI back to St. Petersburg. Once our forces link up with Marzaq's, most of eastern Europe will be in our hands."

"What of the recent setbacks Marzaq has suffered in France? Even in those areas with minimal GDI presence, the mutants have been offering stiff resistance."

O'Connor was silent at that last remark, not because Marzaq's French campaign was coming to a standstill, but at the mention of mutant forces. While neither side knew just how many mutants there were, their numbers had grown significantly over the past few decades. Those that survived contact with Tiberium were either extremely lucky or those with the potential to evolve, not just mutate. However, the human genome was not sturdy enough to come out of uncontrolled contact with Tiberium intact. A controlled approach was needed, where Tiberium was applied as if a treatment instead of a hazardous material. Looking at the graduates, O'Connor noted all who passed the screening process developed by Marko. There was still a great deal of risk, but it may well be the last hope for mankind's survival.

When dinner ended, all of the graduates were a bit tipsy and headed to either continue their celebrations or to sleep off what they had already consumed, all but one that is. Lingering as O'Connor dismissed his staff, Qatar was waiting at the entrance when O'Connor began to leave.

"General."

"Lieutenant," O'Connor replied. All graduates of his received a formal military rank, even if certain elements of the Brotherhood sought to abolish them in order to be more "progressive" or whatever the hell they called it. "Is there a problem?"

"No sir," said Qatar. "I just had some questions regarding my assignment."

An eyebrow rose. "Not to your liking, lieutenant?"

"No sir!" Qatar definitely did not want to make the wrong impression. "But, I am aware that it was through General Slavik's recommendations that I was allowed into your training program. I was wondering if he had requested for me specifically, and if so, what my specific duties might entail."

Always asking questions, wondering. It was a useful trait, if Qatar learned when it was appropriate. She still had some growing to do.

"Slavik did not request your assignment," O'Connor finally said. "_I_ decided to place you amongst the Black Hand. You show promise, Qatar. It would be better if you were experienced in all the forms of battle the Brotherhood employs. Better that is, so that you know how to best make use of them in the future."

"Y-yes sir!" Qatar saluted him, a determination glowing in her eyes despite the quiver in her voice. She would not disappoint him. After all, her life depended on it.

O'Connor left Qatar standing there as he proceeded to his own quarters. Tomorrow promised to be quite busy, and today's affairs still needed to be finalized. Walking into the command center, O'Connor surveyed the massive displays mounted on all the walls. Holographic images were projected, displaying not only GDI and Nod held regions in their respective gold and red shades, but also satellites in their various positions. Of especial interest were those equipped with ion cannons. While GDI's goal was to be able to target any location on Earth at any time, they were still years away from achieving it. This left holes in their satellite coverage, holes that O'Connor could take advantage of, providing he got the timing down right.

"Status on Phantom 4?"

"Sir!" the colonel stiffened to attention. "The last report indicated they were in position. The three GDI armored divisions haven't moved yet, sir. They don't seem to be aware of our forces."

"Excellent. Daggers 3 and 5?"

"Awaiting permission to strike, sir."

The only thing left to do now was to wait. The battle plan was highly complex, if only because there were so many parts to it. However, the pieces had been put into play long ago and O'Connor was relying on as much the domino effect of their actions as anything else. Suddenly, an alert popped up on the hologram.

"GDI battlefield comm traffic," said an officer. "Attempting decrypt."

Before the officer could finish, another alert appeared. Several more followed, all marking locations where GDI communications spiked. Right on schedule too, as O'Connor glanced at the time.

"Decrypt complete! GDI units are reporting attacks by stealth units."

It seemed GDI still wasn't aware the Cadre had cracked the encryption of their radios. "Order Dagger 3 to deploy."

"Yes sir."

A full ten minutes passed before another series of alerts appeared. As the volume of signals traffic increased, so did the urgency in those messages.

"Sir, we're intercepting transmissions between the GDI sector command and the armored division stationed in sector six."

"Excellent. Order Dagger 5 to deploy."

"Sir."

The plan itself was quite simple. Over the past month, O'Connor had made a series of probing raids along the Moscow district perimeter. While none were overly aggressive, the psychological effect was sufficient to force GDI to deploy more forces in the area to show the residents that they were serious about protecting them. Of course those units had to come from somewhere, and in the process of concentrating more troops in this one area meant thinning the ranks in others. One might expect O'Connor to take advantage of the situation and strike at one of the weakened lines, but instead his target was the now reinforced positions. What better way to convince GDI to continue their deployments than to show that they were necessary?

"Sir, we're getting reports of heavy armor moving to counter our attacks."

"Continue with the operation," said O'Connor. "Dagger 4?"

"Already in the air and ready to strike."

"Display video feeds from Phantom 4."

Suddenly two of the screens was filled with streams from over a dozen vehicles and infantry. While each provided only a limited view of the battlefield, together they could be pieced together to provide a very complete picture. Stealth tanks appeared and disappeared as they continued harassing GDI units, always staying as far back as they could. Their missiles offered certain advantages over the guns that traversed to target them, though the wrecks that littered the battlefield attested to the limits they could be pushed.

The enemy commander wasn't a complete fool at least. The majority of his lighter units were held back while the heavier armor led the charge against the stealth tanks. Considering the movements of the enemy tanks, O'Connor was fairly certain a sensor array had been deployed. However, this also meant no MLRS units were actively engaged.

"Assign targets in sectors seven, nine, twelve, and fifteen to Dagger 4," O'Connor ordered. "Begin attack run once ready."

"Yes sir."

The Titans moving in close formation may have provided excellent cover for each other against pincer maneuvers, but they were also perfectly lined up for the Banshees screaming in. None of the feeds were terribly clear, but even so O'Connor could make out the green bursts of plasma splashing over the walkers. Explosions erupted with every hit and Titans throughout the line toppled over. The video streams stabilized as O'Connor's forces no longer needed to constantly maneuver. That by itself was enough to tell him the GDI counterattack had been completely blunted.

"Daggers 3 and 5, engage," O'Connor ordered.

The attack did not catch GDI by surprise, for they had already detected the incoming units. On the other hand, GDI forces were expecting to meet armor with armor. Now, their entire front line was a wall of twisted metal. A lone Titan stood here and there, but even those did not have a chance to meet the newcomers. Missiles quickly knocked out the few standing walkers as the stealth tanks finished what the fliers had started. GDI forces immediately began pulling back, trying to outrun the tanks that now thundered their way.

The paths each group took was disappointingly predictable. A series of hardened defensive outposts were scattered throughout the region, each surrounded by RPG towers, Vulcan cannons, and SAM mounts. Taking one would be extremely costly, even with his new fighters. However, O'Connor's tanks weren't there to smash into those defenses. No, they were there to protect against any close range attacks against the very vulnerable artillery when they deployed.

"Sir, we've picked up incoming! GDI fighters!"

O'Connor frowned. To compensate for their lack of artillery, GDI projected their air power with little reservation. "Type and count?"

"F-23 fighters, sir! A full squadron!"

"Is that so?" An excellent time to test the Banshee's _other_ role. "Order Dagger 4 to engage at will, but keep them away from the artillery."

"Yes sir!"

There was a substantial risk in sending his fighters against the older jets. Despite their age, F-23s were perfectly capable crafts. In addition, they were developed under the doctrine of first fire, locking onto their enemy outside of their engagement zone and destroying them before the other side could return fire. On the other hand, once they had expended their missiles, the fighters would have to engage in old fashioned dogfights, where the Banshee possessed a decided advantage. Now he just needed to see if the stealth coating worked as well in the field as it did in the labs.

There was something decidedly undramatic about watching dots flying at each other, yet each one signified a life that might end at any moment. Two, actually, as the Banshee required both a pilot and a gunner. At least if GDI lost this engagement, they would only lose one man per plane.

"They've engaged! Dagger 4 reports missiles incoming!" For a few seconds, the entire command room seemed to freeze. Then, "Lock broken! Missile lock has been broken!"

It was then that O'Connor realized he was holding his breath and let out a long sigh. The fighters were now too close for the dots to really represent their positions relative to each other, so all he could make out was a blob. While no battle chatter was openly pipped into the command center, the headset O'Connor now wore provided him with a direct feed.

"Fighter at two o'clock!"

"Incoming!"

"He's on me! Pulling out!"

The chatter was too jumbled to be very informative, but O'Connor took solace in the lack of any screams or cut transmissions. One by one, the dots signifying GDI units began to drop. Despite having aged well, the F-23 was still a design from the last century. It was just no match for a fighter of non-human origins.

"Ah-"

There went one. O'Connor's face remained stony, but he clenched his teeth regardless. GDI may have downed one of his, but they paid for it with their entire squadron. Still, he couldn't leave anything behind for GDI to analyze.

"Recovery team, find the crash site and destroy anything that survived. Remaining fighters, return to base."

By all rights the test was a success, but O'Connor would have preferred if the aura of invincibility surrounding his fighters had lasted a bit longer. A weapon's psychological effect could be as potent as its actual lethality.

"Status on the bombardment?"

"Targets 2, 5, and 6 have been reduced. GDI forces are withdrawing from those outposts. They seem to be repositioning around targets 1, 3, and 4."

"Well, that seems sufficient for our purposes. Status on those three armored divisions?"

"Sector six has already been uncovered. They're advancing as quickly as they can towards the front."

"Is that so? Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any. Order Phantoms 1 through 4 to deploy."

"Yes sir."

The first thing one learned in military or espionage was to come up with succinct code names. While it was permissible to use names that hinted at the type of force it was describing, you never ever gave names that hinted at the objective of said force. Thus while Phantom 5 had been a large unit of stealth tanks, 1 through 4 were something else entirely. GDI would be learning that the hard way soon enough.

"Order all forces to dig in as planned," O'Connor said. "Withdraw Dagger 4 from the engagement zone. If GDI attempts any further air sorties, deploy our Raptors instead."

"Yes sir!"

Setting the headset down, O'Connor looked at the situation map with some satisfaction. GDI control of Moscow had grown increasingly tenuous over the past decade, though whether the Initiative itself was aware of this fact was another matter entirely. Undermining GDI forces was a slow process, but now the Cadre was poised to launch a decisive strike and reclaim the heart of Russia. Perhaps he would finally get to see the city his grandfather spoke so proudly of.

The next few hours were relatively quiet, with his staff taking care of the after action cleanup. O'Connor did not envy them that task, but it was so that he could shove off such unpleasant work that he had a staff. Well, part of the reason at least. The GDI armored division was making good time and would soon make good the losses O'Connor's Banshees inflicted. The GDI commander was reacting appropriately, since the next logical step for O'Connor was to strike at the remaining outposts and tear a massive hole in GDI's line. If that happened, there was no major force large enough to plug that hole unless GDI wanted to commit the other two divisions to the task. On the other hand, if the line held, those two divisions could be used for a counterattack, provided they were equipped with proper anti-air support. That was the likely plan being pursued by GDI right now, but O'Connor had something else in mind.

One of the larger screens was dedicated to local news broadcasts, which were all racing to cover O'Connor's attack. Since GDI had initiated an information blackout, about all they did was repeat themselves and sometimes to "to the field" to talk to "eyewitnesses." It was not for information that the stations were being monitored. No, they were being monitored so that O'Connor would know how the second phase of his plan was going. Then, promptly at midnight, several of the channels cut out. A few more followed, but the rest remained on the air. Their tone quickly changed however, and even the lights in the studios dimmed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems there's a power outage in the area. Please don't be alarmed and stay in your homes."

As to who exactly the newscaster was expecting to see this since no power meant no TV, O'Connor didn't know. Then again, these people were creatures of habit and their rambling certainly helped him.

"It seems much of the area is without power right now, we're trying to get confirmation. GDI has not yet issued an official statement, but we will bring it to you the moment they do. In the meantime, you can also tune into our radio stations at frequencies-"

Suddenly the remaining channels all dropped off the air. That was as much confirmation as O'Connor needed. The EMP devices had been detonated and Moscow and the surrounding area was now completely without power. Considering how fragile the entire infrastructure was O'Connor doubted GDI could repair it within the week, which gave him plenty of time.

"There's more chatter in the air sir," an officer reported. "Seems GDI doesn't know what to make of the power outage, though they're attributing it to us."

"How very intuitive of them," O'Connor said dryly. "Begin bombarding targets 1, 3, and 4. Let's see which they choose to defend and which to sacrifice."

Under the darkness of night, O'Connor's artillery had repositioned themselves for this phase of the offensive. At the same time, small teams were advancing to the now abandoned outposts. O'Connor did not expect to hold them against any attempts to retake them, but that didn't mean he would let GDI plug the holes in their line for free. GDI forces continued to weather the attacks but it was only a matter of time before they got sick of sitting on their asses and tried to take out the Nod artillery. That did not take long, as GDI forces finally decided to take the initiative.

"Sir, two battalions are advancing from target 3 towards our artillery. It appears to be armored and mechanized infantry units, mixed with anti-air support."

"Interesting. How fortunate I have no intention of wasting fighters on them. EMP emplacements?"

"Ready and charged, sir. Estimated time till they are in range, two minutes."

It was a common belief amongst the Nod leadership that O'Connor's personal forces were relatively small compared to their factions, albeit extremely well trained. This was in fact true, as the general did not believe in fielding massive armies to accomplish what a much smaller force could accomplish. As a consequence O'Connor relied much on well thought out tactics and strategies to prevent his opponents from using the disparity in numbers to their advantage. At the same time, nothing stopped O'Connor from making his opponents think he was facing a much larger force.

"GDI forces are in range!"

"Fire."

In the blackness of night the blue charges were visible far and wide, acting as beacons for the emitters that created them. The next moment they arced through the sky before splashing upon their targets, a blaze of electrical energy washing outward like a tidal wave. Most of the human operators and soldiers likely experienced nothing more than a tingle, but sparks began blowing immediately across all their hardware. The affected units barely had time to react when the next volley found them, but these were not EMP blasts. Explosions ripped through the GDI ranks as artillery rounds landed. With the walkers and transports disabled, GDI personnel were sitting ducks as artillery rained down on them. With even communications disabled, there was no way for them to even report their situation or request assistance of any sort. By the time the bombardment stopped the effects of the EMPs were gone, though few survived to take advantage of it. Those that did beat a hasty retreat lest the Nod guns decide to end this brief reprieve.

"Withdraw the artillery," O'Connor ordered.

"Yes sir."

GDI forces were for all intents and purposes broken in this sector. If he truly wanted to, O'Connor could likely sweep into Moscow before they could mount a serious counterstrike. However, such an offensive would be extremely costly in the long run. For now O'Connor was content to continue withering away at the GDI army deployed in Russia. No matter how large a force they fielded to face him, O'Connor intended to wipe it out. Fighting to a standstill was no longer an option.

"Begin mop-up operations," O'Connor ordered.

While GDI forces were in disarray, he would see about reducing their numbers a bit more. The longer he could keep them from forming a cohesive force to face him, the more time he would have to further his own plans. And when that time came, not even Kane would be able to stop him.

GDI Sector Command

Paris, France

1400 Local Time

August 30, 2030

Russia technically was not part of his responsibilities, but that did not mean the recent offensive was of no concern to him. Looking over the reports, Langley grimaced. The Nod attack had thoroughly destroyed six defensive outposts and badly mauled three armored and two mechanized infantry battalions before withdrawing. Even worse, much of the Moscow area was still without power and the backup generators were barely supplying enough juice to power the various early warning systems and defenses. The next push O'Connor made might well force GDI out of the city entirely, something Philadelphia Command was not willing to permit. Even now reinforcements were being rushed through St. Petersburg south to Moscow, but something told Langley it was too little too late. Still, that wasn't stopping General Solomon from trying. A proposal was also before the Directors Council to activate additional reserves and bring GDI to a true war footing. Langley could already imagine the outcry from the General Assembly.

"Latest reports from Germany, sir," Jackson said, handing Langley a stack of papers.

"I see Schroeder is as succinct as ever," Langley muttered. "Anything from Mitchell?"

"He reports interception of Nod advance scouts in the Ardennes area. It certainly looks as if Nod forces will be attempting a breakout into France in that direction."

"And then a run towards Paris if they get through. Has he found their main force yet?"

"No sir, but considering the geography of the Ardennes, there are only a few places where Nod forces can move through en mass and Mitchell has all of them covered."

"Let's not make the same mistake the French did, Major," said Langley. "For all we know, Nod forces have already positioned themselves in France."

"True sir, but unlikely. Insurgents do not an army make. If the Brotherhood seeks to truly defeat us, they need to engage us in open battle, which means their regular forces. That kind of troop movement would be very difficult to miss."

Valid points, all, but Langley's instincts were telling him otherwise. The forces currently being fielded in Germany and Russia didn't just spring out of nowhere. The Brotherhood had managed to hide its true strength for years and was finally making its move. He needed to stop any further incursions west and then retake Germany before Nod finally mustered an attack against France.

"Any updates from the archive team?"

"Nothing since the last major find, sir. It seems all other data regarding the agent was destroyed."

"Damn. Well, can't worry about that now, especially with all the crap that's going on. Progress on Mammoth rollout?"

"They've completed one so far, using spare parts from the first prototype. However, North America Command has already claimed it."

"What!? What the blazes do they need it for!?"

"It seems the politicians feel that protecting New York and Washington DC is more important."

A low growl sounded in Langley's throat. "First they claim the Mark II was a failure, and now they start poaching them from frontline deployment!? Bloody bastards. What about the second production unit?"

"Another two months at least, sir. But General Solomon has assured us that it will not be diverted from Europe Command."

"Good. We need every edge we've got if we're to be ready for those damn fliers Nod is cranking out."

And there lay another concern. Not only were the new fliers extremely effective in a bombing role, they were also deadly in air-to-air combat. The loss ratio against the F-23s was extremely bothersome, since it remained the premier air superiority fighter for GDI. Project Talon was still years away from fruition and the current Orca fighters were better suited for dodging missiles than those plasma weapons on Nod's fighters. Assuming the reports were accurate, the fighters also possessed some kind of stealth coating that threw off heat seekers and radar lock.

"Status on the ExSSMs?"

"We should expect delivery within the week and deployment over the next month or so," Jackson replied.

"Make sure frontline outposts get them first," Langley ordered. "Little point in having them sitting in launchers unused back here."

Technically a naval weapon, the Ex Sea Sparrow Missile was an advancement over the Evolved SSM developed by the former United States. Designed to track fast moving targets that were equipped with countermeasures, electronic and otherwise, the ExSSM in theory stood the best shot at taking down the new fighters. It was a constant game of catchup for both sides. The moment a new weapon was fielded the other side sought to find ways to defeat it, either through existing technology or something completely new. Hopefully GDI's current arsenal was up to the task, otherwise the balance of power would tip even further in Nod's favor.

Looking at the situation map mounted in his office, Langley couldn't help but sigh. The biggest problem with fighting something like the Brotherhood was dealing with their guerrilla tactics. While GDI operated openly wherever its forces deployed, even areas that were firmly in Nod hands offered few visible targets. All too often by the time InOps actually found a target Nod forces had already moved on. Thus it became a habit for many GDI sector commanders to simply sit tight and wait for Nod to make the first move before striking, essentially giving up the initiative. That was however not something Langley was prepared to do.

"Granger reports that his forces are advancing upon Budapest. They've encountered no heavy resistance so far but he expects that to change once they reach the outskirts."

"Excellent. What of Colonel Herald?"

"His forces have already moved into the Silesia region and linked up with several resistance cells. From the information they've supplied, he's organized over a dozen raids on Nod supply lines and manufacturing sites. It'll be a while longer before we see any visible effects."

"Any reactions to his movement?"

"Some, but the major units in Germany are sitting tight. They seem to have dug in around Hamburg and Munich, though we can't be entirely sure what they are up to. And sir? The staff meeting will be starting in five minutes."

Standing, Langley put on his jacket. "Well then, I suppose we can't keep them waiting."

The job of a general was to dictate policy and orders, while the staff implemented and carried them out. As such, Langley preferred to avoid getting bogged down in endless briefings about situations. Before every staff meeting, Jackson provided him with a rundown of recent developments that he may not be aware of and from those Langley adjusted his strategies accordingly. By the time he got to the meetings, he had a clear idea of what new orders he would be issuing, if any at all.

The majority of the old command staff had been killed, meaning Langley's current staff was composed of mostly people from his old unit. It helped smooth the transition to his command style and also reduced reluctance to adopt a more aggressive approach to engaging the Brotherhood. For all his past accomplishments, General Geharis seemed content to leave Nod be. This worked only as long as the Brotherhood remained divided, but now someone had obviously united the various factions and turned their attention towards GDI. If the Brotherhood was already intent on fighting GDI, there was little reason to not provoke them.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen," Langley said as he entered the room. "Let's make this quick, we're all too busy to just lounge around in here."

A grin or two cracked but nothing more. Langley's statement was painfully true for all of them.

"Herald's little thrust south from Gdansk certainly threatens Nod's ability to make war, but we aren't getting the reactions we hoped for," said Langley. "Jackson has already told me we've seen no major troop movements, but that doesn't mean there aren't any."

"We still don't know the full extent of Nod's tunnel networks sir," said another staff officer. "Colonel Herald is currently in Nod aligned territory so we don't have much intelligence resources on the ground. Even the resistance elements don't know enough to provide a clear picture."

"Suggestions on how to deal with this?" Langley asked.

"Sir, we could begin deploying sensor arrays along his advance, the new deep penetration ones. The colonel only has general purpose mobile ones designed to detect stealth units and fairly shallow subterranean movement."

"I thought Gdansk base didn't have any mobile units, which was why Herald didn't take any to begin with," said Langley.

"They don't sir, but Brussels has several. They were originally deployed to protect against any subterranean attacks against the regional capital."

An eyebrow rose. "How many?"

"Six, sir."

"Is that so? Requisition three of them and assign Colonel Winczyk to it. He is to move along Colonel Herald's path and attempt to map any tunnels he can find. Focus on locations where Herald encountered heavy resistance."

"Brussels is likely to protest," Jackson said. "Especially with the possibility of a major offensive coming through the Ardennes."

"They are perfectly free to lodge a protest if they so wish," Langley responded. "However, we've got an entire division stationed in the area. If they keep at it, I just might deploy that division to reinforce Mitchell's search."

Jackson could only grimace, imagining the reaction she would receive if and when she forwarded that particular threat to the politicians. "Then the only matters remaining are recent developments in the Middle East and Russia."

"Considering Nod advancements, we should definitely reinforce our Poland garrisons," said an officer. "O'Connor may attempt to link up with Nod forces in Germany if he manages to break through the Moscow line."

"Or he may head south against Saudi Arabia," another officer suggested. "The Israelis and Saudis are getting very nervous, especially after O'Connor managed to get several armored units through to the Suez. The increasing buildup in Egypt is also of concern."

"The best way to provide relief for the other theatres is to stop Nod cold in Europe," said Langley. "Blunt their offensive here and we stop their momentum. We might even force them to shift resources to make up for losses. For now, continue our current operations. Now, is there anything else?" A few shaken heads answered him. "Very well, dismissed."

Once the rest of the staff was out of the room, Langley picked up a cup and took a long gulp of water. The meeting barely lasted ten minutes, if even. But there was always more work waiting the moment he stepped out of this room. It was never ending, this war against the Brotherhood. Every time GDI thought it had stamped out the last remnants, another head poked up. Nod might as well be a hydra for that matter. The only way to kill it was not to attack the heads, but to take out the body. Langley blinked. Now why hadn't that ever occurred to him before?

"Major, come with me."

"Uh, yes sir." The 'what else would I do' went unsaid.

Langley set a hurried pace as he strode down the corridor. Officers and personnel quickly stepped aside to make way, often glancing curiously at their commanding officer. To Jackson's surprise, they were headed not for the command center or Langley's private office. When the two finally came to a stop it was before the ion cannon uplink.

"Sir, what exactly are you planning on doing?"

"O'Connor. His command style. It's always been very different than those of other senior Nod commanders. I knew this, but I never consciously acknowledged _why_ it was different. Now, I have a pretty good idea."

The key panel beeped and a green light flashed as the door slid open. Besides the guard outside two other soldiers were inside with weapons at the ready. One did not leave one half of GDI's most important strategic assets unprotected. The two didn't even bother saluting or coming to attention and continued to watch Langley and Jackson as they entered.

"Lieutenant," Langley said to the officer on duty. "Pull up the ion cannon orbital paths from four days ago."

"Uh, yes sir."

Tapping at his console, the officer did as ordered and one of the displays changed to a map of the world. Dots were scattered above it, each one signifying a satellite equipped with an ion cannon.

"Overlay the coverage each one provides," Langley instructed.

Another set of commands and portions of the map was shaded with a light blue. However, significant portions remained in their original colorations.

"Interesting. Note how the regions O'Connor struck were all out of the coverage range."

"Sir, what are you suggesting?" the lieutenant asked.

"Something that's blatantly obvious. O'Connor's keeping track of our ion cannon satellites so he knows what battles to pick in order to avoid them."

"But that's impossible! How could he track anything with all the atmospheric interference?"

"That's not the only thing though." Langley leaned forward and looked at the map again. "He could have taken Moscow but didn't. Why?"

"Perhaps he didn't believe he could hold it?" Jackson suggested.

"Or he understands that seizing Moscow offers little in terms of rewards."

Jackson frowned at that. "Sir? Moscow is a major city despite the surrounding Tiberium contamination. Not only is there a large manufacturing sector but it is also a major transportation hub."

"Any fighting within the city would wreck the factories rather thoroughly and would require months to put back into service," said Langley. "And considering the resources O'Connor deployed against our forces in Russia, it doesn't seem like he really needs it anyways. As for it being a transportation hub, that again is only true for us. Nod has their own infrastructure, one we can't seem to find, so we don't know if capturing Moscow does anything for them from a logistical standpoint."

Jackson digested the reasoning in silence. What Langley said was true enough, and blatantly obvious if one thought about it. Yet where exactly her commanding officer was going with all this she still wasn't sure and said as much. That simply earned her a smile.

"After getting blindsided like that, they like changed the orbit of one of the satellites to provide cover for the Moscow area. However, doing so means another area will be left without support." Langley turned to the lieutenant. "Bring up the current coverage worldwide and mark the satellites diverted for the Moscow area."

It took but a moment for the map to be updated and while Moscow was now shaded a light blue, other places were no longer colored.

"If the satellite had not been diverted, what sector would still be covered?" Another moment passed and a region north of Moscow was colored a pale yellow. "Well, well. The Rybinsk hydroelectric station. "Now that would be an interesting possibility."

"Sir, are you serious?" Jackson blurted out.

"Come with me, major," Langley suddenly said as he straightened. "And everything all of you just heard and saw is classified. Do it mention it to anyone else. Is that clear?"

A trio of affirmatives answered him. Nodding, Langley exited the room with Jackson right behind. This time they returned to Langley's office and he promptly activated secure mode once the door closed.

"O'Connor's objective isn't territorial gain, no matter how strategic it might be," he began. "He's wrecking havoc all across western Russia while at the same time not actually seizing anything. Each place he's hit is on the verge of falling, but he's never fully exploited the tenuous position he keeps putting us in. And every time he hits a place, we end up having to reinforce them just in case he does decide to strike. He's intentionally spreading our forces thin while at the same time making sure the amount of territory we need to defend doesn't shrink so we can't concentrate our forces."

The frown Jackson gave him did not signify disagreement with Langley's theory, but the general knew his assistant would need some more convincing. And she wasn't the only one Langley needed to convince.

"Get me General Solomon. If I'm right, we need to modify our strategy if we want to keep O'Connor from shredding the Russian front to pieces."

"Yes sir."

Getting a direct line to Solomon took little time and Langley wasted even less laying out his theory. The senior general listened silently and only spoke when Langley was finished.

"That's an interesting theory, Will. And if it's true, well, then we're in for a hell of a time in Russia. We can't exactly leave the places he hit undermanned."

"No sir. By all accounts, O'Connor's forces suffered minimal casualties in all of his pushes. We need to reverse the loss ratio we're suffering so that it's his side being bled dry."

"EVA, get me General Khukov."

"Acknowledged."

"So do you have any suggestions for countering O'Connor's tactics?"

Langley nodded. "We hit him first."

"Excuse me?"

Before Langley could elaborate, the screen split and another officer appeared. Lieutenant General Khukov, the senior GDI commander of GDI forces in western Russia and Ukraine. A competent officer, but the stress of the past few days were starting to show.

"General Solomon, General Langley," Khukov greeted. "I was told the matter is urgent?"

"Will here thinks he's figured out O'Connor's strategic methodology," Solomon said. "Why don't you explain?"

That Langley did, and Khukov nodded slowly as he listened. "An interesting theory, and with plenty of evidence to support it. Knowing how O'Connor is choosing his target will certainly allow us to predict where he'll hit next."

"The Rybinsk hydroelectric station," Langley stated. "Shifting the orbit of the satellite to provide ion cannon coverage for Moscow ended up uncovering that area."

"It's too late to shift the satellite back," said Solomon, "and it would take three days at least to get another overhead."

"That's why you should hit him first," said Langley. "5th Regiment is transiting south for Moscow, but it's fairly close to the site. If you can flush out O'Connor's forces and draw them into an open battle, you'll have a much higher chance of victory than allowing him to control the pace of battle."

"5th Regiment is currently designated to reinforce sector 9," said Khukov. "That area is heavily undermanned right now thanks to O'Connor's recent attacks."

"You have other units deploying to cover sectors all around it. You could easily borrow troops from them to at least temporarily bolster sector 9's defenses. But 5th Regiment is the only one that can get to Rybinsk in less than a day right now, and if I'm right, O'Connor's going to hit the place soon."

"It's your call, Khukov," Solomon said.

The Russian general held Langley's gaze without flinching. One certainly could not accuse him of cowardice or indecisiveness. Still, the risk he would take was not inconsiderable. Assuming Langley was wrong and O'Connor really was out to make territorial gains, having an entire regiment out of place would badly reduce his ability to defend Moscow. But if Langley was right this was an opportunity to pay back the Nod general for the destruction he inflicted not four days ago, and that was a very tempting risk to take. Khukov let out a long sigh.

"What the hell. All war's a gamble."

Langley allowed a small smile to creep over his face. He still didn't know if he was right, but if he was they might finally get a handle on this situation. If they failed, this may turn into a war GDI could not win. After all, it was already a war GDI never expected to happen.

Elite Cadre Central Command

Ural Mountains

1713 Local Time

August 31, 2030

"Report!" O'Connor's voice seemed to boom as he stormed into the command center and it was fortunate for the officers on duty they were ready with a response.

"GDI forces just stumbled upon our forces in the Rybinsk area. They've taken out approximately twelve of our tanks and are trying to engage the rest. The survivors are trying to extricate themselves but GDI air support is laying down a lot of fire."

Stifling a curse, O'Connor looked at the situation display. "Khukov is still in command, correct?"

"Yes sir. We aren't aware of any change in GDI's chain of command."

"Then either I underestimated him or he had help. Order all units not yet engaged to withdraw immediately to their designated rally points. Under no circumstances are they to allow GDI to draw them into a running battle."

"Yes sir!"

Even if he could recover the rest of his forces without suffering major losses, there was still the two companies of tanks currently being hit hard by GDI. While O'Connor was prepared to take losses, he was not prepared to abandon his troops to their fates. It was time to accelerate his battle plan, even if the objective was changed.

"Order Insurgent 2 to begin detonating their charges," O'Connor said coolly.

Even this far away from the battlefield, the order took like time reaching his troops and the effects were spectacular to behold. Charges blasted a path along the reservoir, hitting both sides of the damn. Instead of attempting to destroy the dam itself, O'Connor's forces were threatening the supports that connected the dam to the two artificial cliffs it sat between. While not enough to cause a collapse, it still created large enough holes for water to burst through and flood the land below. In a matter of seconds the unfortunates caught below were swept away under the turret. Few GDI units were caught in the rampaging waves but the chaos that ensued halted the advance. In the meantime surviving Nod forces continued their retreat. They had been bloodied, but this was a victory neither side would enjoy. For now, that was enough.

"Change the next target to be Novgorod," O'Connor suddenly said.

"S-sir?" one of the staff officers stuttered. "Novgorod still has an ion cannon covering it."

"I know. But we obviously can't use that approach anymore. GDI was able to preempt us in this instance, meaning they've realized we can track their satellites."

"But sir, with a satellite overhead, the chance of success drops nearly 20%."

"Which is why we'll need some other way to neutralize their ion capability," O'Connor stated. "And it's about time we actually made some territorial gains as well. Taking Novgorod will certainly increase the pressure on Moscow, and that's the point of this campaign to begin with." A feral smile appeared. "And when the time comes, we'll cripple GDI so thoroughly that they'll have no choice but to surrender the Motherland to her rightful heirs."

End of Chapter 7

The geopolitical situation in the C&C universe is quite interesting, since the idea is that the old nation-states have fallen and been either subsumed by GDI or Nod. This is a very simplistic view of what has to be a very complicated situation. In the last chapter we dealt with Poland and Russia to a fair extent so I thought I'd lay out some of my reasoning regarding those two nations in this story. First, since I follow the theory that RA1 was the prequel to C&C, Poland was invaded and occupied by the Soviets for a number of years. Thus the Poles likely hate the Russians and totalitarians in general. Thus while many Poles would be highly patriotic, the angle that the Brotherhood uses to appeal to people would face stiff resistance in Poland and the majority of Poles would likely back GDI as at the very least the better of two evils. Russia on the other hand is another matter entirely. Russia would have been on the losing end of WWII, where the UN, GDI's precursor, sided against her. This combined with the very western-centric nature of GDI would be off putting to many Russians as they are a very nationalistic people. Combine this with the Brotherhood's involvement with the Soviets and it's pretty evident that even if the former Russian government supports GDI, the general population would not be as enthusiastic.

For those of you that have read the Thrawn trilogy, one thing that stood out for me was the fact that Thrawn was more than willing to retreat to minimize his losses. That's the one trait I was certain I wanted to instill in O'Connor. Another that may or may not make it in is the ability to minimize the need to retreat in the first place, but I'd say it's slowly creeping in. I'm sure there's some speculation as to who O'Connor really is. While his current name is English, it is just an alias and he himself is of partial Russian descent. He's also my own creation but has a link to an existing character in the C&C universe. Here's a hint. His grandfather was a major in the Soviet armed forces during the war. However, O'Connor himself was raised in England.

This chapter is fairly lengthy for several reasons. First, I noticed a very annoying pattern I've developed over the course of writing for so long. I treat chapters as if they focus purely on one event and I wrote in an episodic style. That is not something I'm proud of. In addition, whenever I tried to write with multiple events happening in a chapter I end up often shortening each part whereas if I dedicated the chapter to only one event that event gets much more developed and fleshed out. This was an attempt to fix those issues and I'm not entirely sure I've succeeded. But it was certainly better than some of my earlier works. Now I just need to keep it up.

I also fixed the lack of a quote for the previous chapter. Was in the middle of a bloody busy semester when I uploaded that.

Someone said that the Elite Cadre was part of the Black Hand. In my timeline, they're a separate but closely linked organization. You could think of the Black Hand as Nod's secret police and intelligence while the Elite Cadre is the professional officer corps.

Z98


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Soldiers and Peacekeepers

GDI Sector Base

Phoenix, Arizona

0021 Local Time

September 2, 2030

Sentry duty was as timeless as anything could be in military service, as there was always someone out there just waiting to kill you. The latter happened to be the other timeless aspect of military service. For this very reason, the soldiers currently on patrol did their damned best to catch anything out of the ordinary. The mood back at base had slowly shifted over the past few days to not a matter of whether the Brotherhood still existed as more than a bunch of drug dealers to when it would be their turn to face a horde of zealots and fanatics. Just a few months ago such a thought would have been laughed at. Now, it was a cold and harsh reality.

"Patrol 2 checking in. All's quiet."

"Acknowledged, patrol 2."

The pair of Wolverines continued their rounds, making their way further and further from the base. In theory, the Wolverines were well armored enough that at least one of them would survive to sound the alert should they be ambushed. However, this assumed that any attacker cared about surprise in mounting an assault. The other problem with the theory was that the attacker wouldn't be able to take out the two walkers before they could get off a warning. This time, it was the former that doomed the GDI soldiers.

Missiles struck the lead walker dead center, blowing a hole into the command module. Sparks and flames splattered from the hit and the walker tumbled forward, its driver already dead. The second soldier barely got a message through when something impacted the back of his unit. Before he could react another explosion caught him from the side and a third penetrated, engulfing him in flames. His scream was cut short as his head snapped to the side with a loud thud.

Not even pausing, soldiers rushed past the wreckage and continued towards the GDI base. The defenders were already scrambling in response to the distress call and klaxons blared throughout. Additional spotlights flared up and scanned the surrounding area, sky and ground. The attackers were still too far for them to be sighted like this, but they were showing up quite clearly on radar.

"Commander Tao! I'm seeing massive incoming!"

The GDI base commander leaned over the console and swallowed. "Request reinforcements from West Coast Command. Tell them we need heavy armor and lots of air support."

"Yes sir." The pause was over too quickly before the lieutenant spoke. "Uh, something's wrong sir. I can't get a signal out!"

A cold sweat washed over Tao. "What? Keep trying."

"Yes sir, but sir, I'm picking up a lot of interference. Whatever they're using to jam us, it's damn strong."

"Keep trying," Tao repeated. "Is it interfering with our short range radios?"

"Somewhat sir, you might end up getting syllables cut off depending on how far away you are."

"That'll have to do," said Tao. "Try using a laser to connect to one of our satellites and get a message out. If we don't get reinforced soon, we're going to get overrun."

"Yes sir!"

Not waiting for the technician to succeed, Tao rushed out of the communications center and towards the war factory. Phoenix Base was by no means a large base, but it was designed to act as a rapid deployment center. It was well defended, with supporting fields of fire for each of its defensive emplacements surrounding the base. Combined with the two platoons on permanent station, it should have been able to withstand most attacks long enough for reinforcements to arrive. The problem here was this was not most attacks and reinforcements might not be coming.

"Get all Wolverines moving now!" Tao shouted to the engineers. "I need all available units in the field immediately!"

Soldiers scrambled to obey, with technicians buttoning down whatever hatch or compartment they were working on. Tao wasted little time climbing into his own unit and began the power up sequence. Just as the systems finished booting, he heard screams through the radio.

"Sub APC! They've breached the base!"

Cursing, Tao pushed his walker forward and joined the other Wolverines lumbering out. The three Nod APCs had just finished surfacing and ground to a halt. The few soldiers close by opened fire but their rounds simply bounced off the transports. In the meantime, Nod soldiers began disembarking. The sound of chainguns erupted and those too close were chewed to pieces. The survivors scrambled away from the hulking monstrosities as cyborgs emerged. Forming a protective screen around the other Nod soldiers, they quickly established a beachhead and continued pouring fire at any GDI unit that dared close in. Fortunately, the Wolverines were a step above the man-machine abominations.

The burst of rounds smashed into the closest cyborg, denting its armor and even piercing it in several places. Turning, it returned fire but the walker's armor was more than a match for the attack. Two more Wolverines moved in and their combined firepower quickly reduced the upper body into a bloody pulp. After teetering for a few seconds the cyborg finally collapsed, a pile of twisted metal and flesh. The walkers quickly switched to other targets but the Nod troops hadn't come completely unprepared.

Missiles greeted the advancing Wolverines, forcing the GDI forces to halt. Here and there a lucky shot took out a leg and incapacitated a walker, but more often than not they struck the frontal armor. The tiny fireballs gave each walker pause, but did not last long as the drivers recovered and responded. Nod soldiers found there was nowhere to hide as the Wolverines opened fire and a hail of bullets cut them down. Those fortunate enough to escape the barrage were now pressed back to the APCs. There was no hope of escape underground as the firefight had crippled the vehicles. The remaining cyborgs were still putting up a fight but it was only a matter of them before they too fell. Of course, that was the entire point of this attack. Winning this battle did not require any of them to make it out alive.

Breaking cover, several Nod soldiers charged forth and slipped through holes in the enclosing defenders. The sudden surge caught the GDI solders by surprise and only a few stray shots chased after them. The rest remained focused on the cyborgs they considered the greater threat. That analysis was quickly reevaluated when they saw what the Nod soldiers were wearing.

"Suicide bombers!" one shouted and took aim.

A shot sounded, but it wasn't his. The surviving cyborgs were now throwing their all at trying to cut off any attacks on their comrades and quickly took advantage of any distractions. The GDI soldier dropped, a bloody hole in his chest.

"Wolverines, take out those bombers!" Tao shouted into his radio. "All other units, bring down the remaining cyborgs!"

As one, all the walkers began marching forth, a thunderous roar echoing as they stomped after the bombers. Incredibly the Nod bombers only ran faster, though even they could not outrun Wolverines. Bullets quickly found their mark but as each one fell they went out in a blaze of fire. Craters soon dotted the area but not all fell victim to the advancing Wolverines. They simply had too much of a head start for GDI forces to take out all of them before they reached their targets.

Cursing, Tao watched as an explosion ripped apart the foundation of a power plant. But he didn't have any time to stand there and gap. Pressing forward, he targeted another suicide bomber and had the satisfaction of watching the man explode before reaching his target. That satisfaction quickly evaporated as another explosion erupted. It was followed by several others, until the ground itself seemed to shake. Something that strong could only mean one thing.

"They got the refinery!" someone shouted over the radio.

"How much Tiberium did we have stored?" Tao queried.

"Almost nothing, sir," came the response. "We just finished processing and shipping out the latest batch."

A minor consolation. Even with the small amount present, the explosion had been that strong. Tao didn't want to know what would have happened had the refinery been full of the rock. Surveying the wreckage, the situation was dire but stable. The destruction wrought upon the base was not terribly extensive. Even the refinery could be repaired given time, but something told Tao they didn't have it.

The remaining cyborgs were falling one by one, finally overcome by the sheer firepower brought to bear. With the momentary reprieve, GDI soldiers rushed forth to put out the various fires that had sprouted. Others saw to the wounded while the dead were left to their resting places. There was simply too much to do before the next attack hit.

"Squads 4, 6, and 9 form up on me," Tao ordered. "Control, have you gotten through to Command yet?"

"Sorry sir, I'm trying! But I'm having trouble aiming the laser. The ionic interference is-"

"I get the picture, lieutenant. Keep trying."

"Yes sir!"

This was just getting worse and worse. The six Wolverines quickly joined him and followed as he approached the base entrance.

"Is the radar still functional?" Tao asked. "Do we have any idea where the enemy force is?"

"Sir! We're detecting a large force east of the base!"

"How large?"

"Sorry sir, but I can't get a firm reading."

Before Tao could get out another word, a hail of missiles ripped through Tao's squadron. The two Wolverines in front of him might have saved Tao, but were left burning wrecks in the process. Scanning the area, Tao caught a glimpse of something disappearing. The presence of stealth tanks was bad enough, but there wasn't even any time to worry about them. Just as the stealth tanks finished cloaking, tick tanks came into visual range. Tao didn't know when his jaw dropped, but when he realized he quickly shut it. Phoenix Base's armor presence was minimal at the best of times. With the cutbacks over the past few years that minimal presence became nonexistent.

"Grenadiers! Forward!"

Technically called disk throwers, they functioned in the same capacity as grenadiers of the last century. However, they possessed a decisive advantage over their ancestors. A dozen or so came forth and hurled a volley of disks at the tanks. No grenadier could have ever hoped for such range, but for disk throwers this was nothing. Their bionic arms leveled the playing field against the tanks as they could now stay out of range of mounted machineguns. Of course, tanks had other weapons to deal with such threats.

Screams sounded as a shell exploded amongst a group of disk throwers. Tao caught a brief glimpse of body parts flying but kept his focus on the incoming tanks. A few had ground to a halt thanks to lucky hits but too many were still advancing. Rounds struck the wall behind Tao, blowing chunks of concrete off. Soldiers scrambled to get out of the way and dispersed their ranks before resuming their bombardment. Explosions continued to blossom along the Nod line but those were paid back in kind.

"Fall back!" Tao shouted into the radio.

The disk throwers were at best delaying the inevitable, but with no natural cover they couldn't hold long. At least with the base they had some protection against the tanks. Combined with the gun emplacements they might be able to blunt the attack. Then again, that was probably all they could probably do.

"Sir!" the radio crackled. "I've gotten an uplink with one of our satellites!"

"Put me on!" Tao shouted. "This is Base Commander Tao reporting! A number of enemy ground forces are hitting us all over the place! They caught us by surprise. We're severely outnumbered! All GDI forces have been destroyed! Repeat, send reinforcements right away!"

Before he could get anything else out, an explosion rocked Tao's unit. Fighting to keep the Wolverine upright, Tao lost the radio link and could only watch as Nod soldiers swarmed forward. The walker flanking him exploded, its arm flying into Tao's. Another blast slammed the commander forward. For a few seconds, everything seemed to go quiet. That passed and he could hear the sound of gunfire in the distance, but Tao just couldn't focus on them. His head felt light and as he touched it, something wet met his hands. Looking down, he saw red covering his fingertips. Even then, his sight grew increasingly hazy. Fighting to maintain focus, Tao looked up and saw the hole in the side of his walker. People were swarming around, people he did not want to meet. The last thing he could see clearly was a Nod soldier peering inside, rifle at the ready. The last thought in his mind was whether that rifle would be used.

The jamming was still in effect but the Kodiak's higher altitude and signal booster managed to compensate. It was certainly strong enough to pick up the screams of a lone GDI soldier running for his life.

"Where the hell are those reinforcements!"

As if answering his pleas, a thunderous boom echoed. Destruction rained down on the two cyborgs chasing him, the pair almost seeming to melt under the onslaught. Seconds later, loud thuds sounded and a flurry of dust was thrown into the air. Where the two Nod cyborgs had been standing was now occupied by a dozen drop pods that were just popping open. The soldiers wasted no time surveying their landing zone, with one kicking aside what was left of a cybernetic arm. The rest of the body was more likely than not under one of the pods.

"Report private," the lead drop trooper said as he approached the soldier.

"It's Nod sir! They came out of nowhere! We have to get back to base and rebuild the refinery before they hit us again!"

The private was definitely still jumpy after what he had just undergone. "Calm down soldier! Reinforcements are right behind us. We're here to take the fight to Nod, not wait for them to come after us!"

Stiffening and then slowly relaxing, the private nodded. "Yes sir."

"Let's move out!"

The drop troops quickly formed up and approached the GDI base. Gun turrets immediately swung around and followed them, but fortunately none opened fire.

"This is Commander McNeil," a voice crackled over the radio. "ETA to touchdown is two minutes. Lieutenant Ramir, secure the immediate area around the base."

"Yes sir!"

Soldiers rushed about in pairs and the six groups ran alongside the walls, taking position around the holes that had been blasted in it. Most already had soldiers guarding them but reinforcements never hurt. The two minutes passed without incident and the roar of drop ships soon filled the air. They landed without incident inside the base and dozens of soldiers and walkers came forth. They cleared out quickly as the drop ships lifted off, making space for the next wave of reinforcements. A massive ship, the Kodiak served as both a command ship as well as a transport. It barely fit inside the landing zone of Phoenix Base but the pilots at the helm proved just why they were there. Ramps lowered and soon four Titans marched down followed by another dozen infantry units. Once its troops were out, the Kodiak lifted off and assumed a higher altitude to coordinate the coming battle. Of course, the commander did not need to be aboard the Kodiak to take advantage of its higher vantage point.

The first to disembark, McNeil signaled his troops to form up around him. "Lieutenant Ramir, regroup your men. Secure the bridge to the east."

"Permission to pursue and destroy if Nod attacks sir?"

"Granted."

"Yes sir!" came an enthusiastic acknowledgement.

The reputation of the drop troops were well earned, as they were widely acknowledged as some of the best light infantry units GDI possessed. The mental discipline required to undergo atmospheric reentry was a rare quality and served them well in many other situations these soldiers often found themselves in. For McNeil, this meant he wouldn't need to babysit them while they were out in the field and could focus on securing the base.

The third wave of reinforcements was here, though instead of soldiers, engineers disembarked the dropships. Gear and other equipment followed and they were quickly directed to the holes in the perimeter. Others began setting down posts for a new refinery. Within an hour, the basic frame would be in place and the processing equipment could be slotted in. Amazing the advances in construction the world had experienced. Though to be frank, no one in their right mind would use such techniques for skyscrapers and the like.

Looking over the wreckage that was the war factory, McNeil let out a curse. Tao's report said nothing about them losing it, so McNeil hadn't brought any replacement parts. To rebuild it would take too long but hopefully the armor he brought would be enough.

"Attack!"

His head snapping towards the source of the cry, McNeil's HUD brought up a map of the base and the surrounding area. Two dots marked incoming Nod units, and they were moving very quickly. The Vulcan cannons let loose and from their cameras McNeil saw that it was a pair of buggies. They were making for one of the repair teams, obviously intent on keeping the holes open.

"Sanchez, Ibanez, get moving!"

Two Wolverines immediately stomped off, rushing through the gap even as others took shelter behind the wall. The presence of the two walkers prevented the buggies from charging in, but didn't stop them from opening fire. Rounds bounced off the armor and concrete but to no avail. The Wolverines responded in kind, their hail of fire easily piercing the light armor on the buggies. Red blood splattered on the windshield and the cars swerved out of control. A steady stream of bullets continued until the wolverines were sure the buggies wouldn't give them any more trouble.

"Get those holes patched up now!" McNeil shouted into the radio. "Ramir, status?"

"A meteor shower just hit sir," came a soft reply. "Took the bridge and a few Nod soldiers that were headed our way. Don't see anyone else."

"What about the second bridge?"

"Intact, sir. Shall we establish a beachhead on the other side?"

"Hold your horses," McNeil replied. "Can't let you have all the fun. Stay put until I get there."

"Yes sir."

With the immediate perimeter secure, McNeil rounded up a few more units and exited the base himself. If there really was a larger Nod base in the area, he intended to see it for himself. Going out meant risking the same fate as Tao, but McNeil was hardly squeamish. War was about taking risks, and you did not win wars by being timid. Reaching Ramir didn't take long and McNeil took a brief moment to examine the sunken bridge. Any corpses were already washed away, but he would see plenty more soon enough.

"Any of your men hurt?"

"No sir," Ramir answered. "We were far away enough to avoid any debris."

Looking across, McNeil couldn't make out anything overtly suspicious.

"Shall I take point, sir?" Ramir asked.

McNeil nodded. As much as he enjoyed being on the front with his men, he was still their commander. That meant staying back far enough to still be able to issue orders as the situation warranted. In fact, he was already too far out.

"I want a sweep of the other side, but do not reveal your presence. If you find the main body, radio for backup. We'll take them out in force."

"Yes sir."

"Chandra, any trouble at the base?" McNeil called as Ramir and his men headed out.

"A few cyborgs tried to take out the cannons, but the Titans took care of that," Chandra replied. "Otherwise, we're not seeing any heavy presence."

"So what happened to all those troops that hit Phoenix before we got here?" McNeil asked his second.

"Maybe they were after something else?" the lieutenant suggested.

"Maybe. Keep monitoring the area. I don't want to get blindsided down here."

"You know, that wouldn't happen if you were up here like you're supposed to be."

"Watch it, Lieutenant," McNeil said, grinning. "Or you might find yourself down here with me."

"Of course sir. Sorry sir." The voice was not apologetic in the least. Then again, that was what made Chandra a damn good second.

McNeil didn't have to wait much longer before a large force of soldiers met up with him. Ramir had yet to report in, but McNeil wasn't going to wait to take the fight to the enemy. Hopefully the radio silence meant Ramir hadn't found anything, which either implied the main Nod force really had moved on or they were being damn sneaky. Deciding it was time to advance, McNeil signaled the troops and they crossed the bridge as quickly as possible. No telling if it too would collapse like its partner. The other side of the river looked surprisingly serene, with no signs of war scarring the earth. Then again, Tiberium was doing such a good job one could easily miss them.

"Continue east," McNeil ordered.

This was one of those moments McNeil sorely missed having a jeep or something to ride on. Hopefully Nod forces weren't too far away.

"Sir!" Looking up, McNeil spotted the soldier waving. "Bodies, sir! Nod troops, with shots to the head."

"Ramir's handiwork, no doubt," McNeil muttered. "Tag them for retrieval later."

"They've already been tagged, sir."

McNeil smirked. The best indeed. "Continue advancing."

He had barely taken another step when the radio crackled.

"Sir, we've located a small Nod outpost," Ramir's voice echoed. "Minimal guards present, but they have Hand of Nod present. Might be an entrance to their tunnels. Orders?"

"Hold position," McNeil said. As much as he respected the skill of Ramir and his men, he wasn't about to send them in without backup just quite yet. "We're five minutes away from your position, at most. Stay put until we get there."

"Yes sir."

Accessing his command interface again, McNeil checked the status of the base. Apparently Nod had made another run at it, but with heavy armor present nothing they had thrown at it made even a dent. McNeil grimaced. If this was really all Nod had in the area, then they were definitely after something else. Why else breach the base but not finish it off?

Setting those thoughts aside, McNeil turned his attention back to the task at hand. He was almost upon Ramir when the radio crackled again.

"Sir, we've got cyborgs on us!" Ramir shouted. "I count eight of them and they've got us pinned down!"

Cursing, McNeil picked up the pace. "Wolverines to the front! Disk throwers, next! Infantry, watch our rear!"

Though McNeil himself only carried a rifle, he kept pace with the disk throwers. All the better to see what exactly was going on. The sound of gunfire soon filled the air, with the almost deafening roar of chainguns going ceaselessly. From time to time a pulse rifle could be heard answering but the infrequency became worrying. Finally catching sight of the firefight, McNeil swore. Ramir wasn't kidding when he said his men were pinned down. Seven cyborgs were advancing upon them, pinning them against the Nod base. With nowhere to run, Ramir's troops were fighting back as best they could. The twisted heap of a fallen cyborg attested to that, but they were still outgunned. That changed quickly as the Wolverines opened fire, raining lead into the back of the cyborgs. Two fell almost immediately while the others staggered and tried to turn and face this new foe.

Taking advantage of the reprieve, Ramir's men opened fire themselves. The head of another cyborg exploded while blood splattered from the neck of another. McNeil could only admire their skill as a third cyborg lost its head. Unlike regular forces that simply sprayed out bullets and hoped to take down their opponents by sheer attrition, members of the Special Warfare Division were trained to be brutally efficient and kill quickly and accurately.

The disk throwers were finally in range and unleashed a storm of fire on the surviving cyborgs. The explosions ripped apart the Nod soldiers, blowing off limbs and carved craters in their chests. Even then, some doggedly continued fighting until another volley of disks reduced them to scrap.

"Go, go, go!"

Shouting as he waved his troops forward, McNeil leveled his own rifle at the Nod troops now engaging Ramir's troops. With the cyborgs off their back, the SWD operatives were dealing death to their other attackers. However, even they were human as one fell, a bloody mess splattered across his shoulder. Wolverines moved to flank the attackers as the other infantry pressed forward, joining their comrades. Faced with overwhelming numbers, the Nod soldiers quickly decided this wasn't a winnable battle and tried to pull back. They soon discovered this too was futile, as they were too deeply engaged. Mere minutes later the last one fell and a quiet settled upon the battlefield. The moment passed quickly as cries of pain brought the assembled back to reality.

Running over, McNeil watched as a medic attended to the wounded soldier. The shot had gone through his shoulder, mercifully missing any vitals. The man would live, assuming they could get him out of here and disinfected. The grunts of pain faded away as the painkiller took effect and the soldier was lifted onto a stretcher.

"Marcus, Ramsey, take your men and get him back to base. Watch out for any ambushes."

"Sir!"

With his only casualty on his way back, McNeil turned again to the Nod outpost. "O'Reilly, Ramir, search the base. Tag traps for removal and let me know if you find anything interesting. I want to know why the Brotherhood hit Phoenix."

"Sir!"

Maybe now they could sort out this insanity and nip this before things really got out of hand. A sigh escaped McNeil. Then again, considering everything happening in Europe, it was already too late for that.

GDI Sector Command

Paris, France

1300 Local Time

September 2, 2030

"Phoenix was retaken?" Langley said, more statement than question.

"Yes sir," Jackson answered regardless. "Commander McNeil retook it with minimal difficulty. He's currently trying to figure out where the force that hit it disappeared to."

"And they didn't even approach the city?"

"No sir."

Looking at the situation map, Langley tilted his head. The attack made very little sense from a strategic or tactical perspective. While it was true Phoenix Base protected the city of its namesake, that obviously was not the Brotherhood's objective as they had left the city alone even after jamming communications and effectively neutralizing the base. That they managed to do so also meant a fairly large force was involved in the attack, but now had disappeared again.

"Very curious indeed. The attack's obviously a diversion, but what exactly are they trying to divert us from?"

"Commander McNeil has already dispatched scouts, but ion activity is making satellite scans and aerial reconnaissance spotty at best. We won't know more until the ground teams report back in."

"Sir," another officer said, "Colonel Winczyk is reporting in. He says he's deployed the first deep scan array and has found something."

"Already? That was quick." Even when saying that, a hint of glee could be detected in Langley's voice.

Jackson nodded in agreement. "Put him on, lieutenant."

"Ma'am."

One of the screens shifted to display the colonel's face. He was in full combat gear, but the internal cameras in his helmet provided an up close look.

"Colonel, status?" Langley asked.

"We're uploading the telemetry now, sir. It looks like the Brotherhood managed to tunnel even deeper than we originally thought. Even the deep scans are only picking up what seems like the top of it."

"How long would it take to dig down there?"

"A couple of days, once the heavy equipment gets here. But sir, that kind of equipment is going to be extremely vulnerable to attack, and I can't imagine Nod being very happy with us going at their infrastructure directly."

"Your concern is noted, Colonel. However, all of my other reserves have already been committed. I'll assign two more squadrons of gunships to provide cover, but that's it for reinforcements."

"I'll take anything I can get, sir. However, there may be a way around our manpower limits."

"Such as?"

"The resistance has plenty of volunteers, but they lack heavy weapons. If you can get some to me, I can arm them to reinforce my position."

"And you think we can trust them with such equipment?"

"Yes sir." There was no hesitation in Winczyk's voice but the colonel could hardly be considered impartial, as much as he tried to be.

Langley considered the consequences of arming the fighters with heavy weapons. GDI had long provided them with light arms, but there was always the concern that when GDI moved in, those same weapons could be turned against the new 'aggressors.' Whether that happened hinged upon the competency of whoever ultimately succeeded Langley and however the bureaucrats in Brussels and New York decided to integrate more of Poland into GDI.

"I can lift in enough weapons for two companies," Langley finally said. "But they'll be tagged and when this is over, I want a full accounting of every last cartridge. That will be your responsibility, colonel."

"Sir!" The screen blinked to black as the connection terminated.

"Any further updates from Russia?" Langley asked, moving onto the next matter.

"There's been increasing activity around the Novgorod region and Sector Command believes the Brotherhood is preparing for a major push aimed at Moscow. As such, Philadelphia Command has diverted several ion cannon satellites to cover the region."

Langley growled slightly. Those diversions had all come from Europe Command, resulting in major holes in his operational area. While he understood the logic, keeping those satellites tied down protecting a hypothetical, though granted very likely attack on Novgorod meant his own forces could not take advantage of the weapon as they pursued Nod across Europe. This, combined with the occupation of large parts of Germany, meant his strategic flexibility was severely hindered.

"Russia Command is also moving two divisions to reinforce the Novgorod garrison," Jackson continued. "General Khukov intends to have them sweep the area and force Nod forces into battle."

"Good enough. And Operation Maginot?"

"On schedule. 5th Battalion expects to reach their jump-off point by tomorrow and can commence operations the day after."

"Excellent."

Operation Maginot, named after the rather ridiculous fortifications France had constructed after the conclusion of the First World War along the Franco-German border. While she never did end up needing it to fend off the Germans, it had been equally useless when the Soviet Union invaded and bypassed the defenses by going through Belgium. The Belgian fortifications that linked into the Maginot Line proved to be insufficient and fell thanks to some rather creative tactics on the part of the Soviets. Had the German army not managed to successfully drive north and cut off Soviet forces advancing into France, Paris might well have fallen.

This time however, Maginot would stand for something considerably different. With Nod forces thoroughly entangled in Germany, it offered Langley an opportunity to actually engage the Brotherhood in open battle. Currently Nod forces were engaged in operations across Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Expelling them out of southern Germany would cut off Nod forces in the north, especially with the progress GDI was making in Poland. An attack into Germany from the French border would be the most direct way of accomplishing that objective and Langley saw little need for subtlety at the moment.

"And Nod activity in Germany?"

"The usual. They seem to have settled around Hamburg however and appear to be building something. We still haven't confirmed what exactly they're doing."

A frown crossed Langley's face. "Show me."

"EVA, display sat-recon of the Hamburg area, date 8-23-2030," Jackson said, "main screen four."

"Processing," the cool feminine voice replied.

A large photo appeared moments later on one of the primary displays. Tapping her console, Jackson zoomed in on the points of interest.

"It looks like they intend to stay for the long term," she said. "They've set up multiple Tiberium refineries and begun raising walls along a fairly large perimeter. Several large holes are also being dug, but we're not sure what purpose they serve. One possibility is they are expanding their subterranean network."

Squinting, Langley examined the image. "No. The holes are too small, and they're already pouring in concrete."

"InOps hasn't come up with anything else though, and attempts to get a closer look have been met with severe resistance."

"What about their supply routes?"

"That InOps was able to pinpoint. The Brotherhood is bringing in a lot of equipment and they aren't being terribly subtle about it. It's as if they're rushing to complete whatever they're building at Hamburg."

"Then let's do our best to disrupt their schedule. I want air strikes on their convoys whenever the opportunity presents itself. Once Maginot reaches the Czech Republic, we can hopefully cut off the supplies entirely."

"Yes sir," Jackson said, making note of the directive. "Anything else in relation to Hamburg?"

"That'll have to do until I get enough troops there to dislodge them."

Rubbing his eyes, Langley leaned back into the chair. It had been a hell of a week, what with O'Connor's advances towards Novgorod and Kane's reappearance. That last one was still highly classified and not even Jackson was privy to it just yet. Philadelphia Command was still digesting the fact that Kane had somehow survived an ion cannon strike, but at least this explained why the various factions had stopped fighting amongst themselves and how Slavik had managed to take down Hassan so quickly. It seemed Langley had assumed command of the European theater just in time for Nod to launch a major offensive against GDI. Interesting times indeed. The only question now was would he survive long enough to be bored again.

End of Chapter 8

It's rather interesting, looking at the statistics page on for the respective chapters and stories. This one is definitely getting a lot of hits, and from around the world too. I wonder what it is about this story that appeals to each nationality. So far I've concentrated a great deal on Europe with only this chapter really shifting to the Americas. I haven't even touched Asia and to be honest I'm not even sure how to, since none of the Tiberian series games ever deal with that part of the world. I suppose I'll just have to be creative.

The thing about Tiberium is that, no matter what type it is, it is reactive. We've seen this in both Tiberian Sun and C&C3. Specifically, when you blew up a refinery, there's generally a rather large explosion that showers Tiberium all over a base. In C&C3, there's the catalyst missile that can cause a chain reaction with Tiberium. Considering the concentrations of the rock stored in refineries and silos, you don't want those blowing up in your base.

This chapter took a while not because it's that long or it was hard to write, though the ending of it is very rough. It was because I spent most of the semester designing and debugging a, relatively simple processor for my computer architecture class. School takes precedence, and I just couldn't find the time to wrap up the chapter. But the break allowed me to think through more about what I want to do with this story, and it won't be following the missions of the GDI campaign as closely as I did the first few Nod missions in the earlier chapters. It will be far broader, dealing with major campaigns around the world. Let's see if I can pull it off. The next chapter at least I intend to deal with the Russian theater in more detail than I've done previously. And let's be frank here. Who really wants to read a detailed walkthrough of missions most of us have beaten to death?

Z98


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Rodina

_The nature of encounter operations_

_required of the commanders limitless initiative and_

_constant readiness to take the responsibility for military action._

_Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov_

The ion cannon satellite network was the most power strategic weapon at the disposal of the Global Defense Initiative. However, the power it afforded was not without some caveats. While the weapon was perfectly capable of hitting a stationary and large target using only the targeting systems on the satellites, precision strikes on small or moving targets required a relay in the vicinity and detailed telemetry from some kind of sensor platform. Even then, there was a built in delay as all this data was processed. To overcome this, ion cannon uplinks were often deployed into the field and tied into a more or less global network. The uplinks themselves rarely communicated directly with an ion cannon, instead passing along its data to a relay center that further refined the targeting before issuing commands to an available satellite. Without these relays, the accuracy of the cannons diminished considerably and could only be counted on for wide area strikes.

The Russian theater possessed two such relays with one master system located in the current capital St. Petersburg tying everything together. One relay was located in the former capital of Moscow while another lay in the northern port city of Arkhangelsk. The garrison there was fairly substantial, with additional support being provided by a small presence of GDI warships. However, the recent events in central Russia had diverted reinforcements and even the transfer of several units south. The garrison was still a force to be reckoned with, but it was not nearly as large as it should have been.

All these facts were taken into consideration for the planning of Operation Mikhail, which sought not the destruction of the GDI garrison but the elimination of the relay. A direct assault on the base to simply take out the relay would have been extremely costly, especially when the attack itself was meant to be little more than a sideshow. With that approach unfeasible, the indirect option was taken and a rather miniscule force was assembled for the operation. The force composition was highly imbalanced and would have been slaughtered had it attempted to meet the defenders head on. Instead, it would neutralize the defenses only long enough to strike at the relay and hopefully fade away without bringing down the entire garrison on its head. That was the plan at least, and so far most of O'Connor's plans had worked. The field commander in charge of this particular operation had little reason to think this mission would be an exception.

Gazing through his binoculars, Lieutenant Plaine took note of the three GDI warships currently anchored. Two were aegis equipped, a potential roadblock to the mission's success, and the radar system on the accompanying carrier might also complicate matters. Then again, the greater threat was likely the fighters the carrier would launch in response to any attack. His own unit would not be trying to actively engage the defenders but instead confuse them. Assuming that worked, they might well escape unscathed. The units hiding with Plaine were not numerous but were expensive. Replacing them was certainly possible but the complexity of electronic warfare packages meant doing so would be very time consuming, even ignoring the loss of the stealth packages designed to hide them until they activated. Combined with having to train new operators and General O'Connor would not be pleased should Plaine and the others botch their jobs and get themselves or their comrades killed.

A beep signaled the beginning of the operation and Plaine dropped into his unit. The cloak dropped seconds later but the GDI base barely saw the dozen or so units appear before suddenly losing track of them. The basic principle of radar jamming was fairly straightforward and had changed little over the years. It was the technique that had evolved, changing to match the countermeasures radar operators now employed when faced with jamming. In this instance the frequency changes employed by the base's radar system had a predictable pattern, though that would likely change once they realized the severity of the electronic warfare being deployed against them. Still, working in conjunction, the twelve jammers would hopefully degrade the performance long enough for the real attack to be carried out.

The GDI operators monitoring the base's radar remained calm as their screens were suddenly awash with static. They activated countermeasures and orders were sent for Orcas to investigate possible sources of the interference. That calm soon faded as they began to realize just how wide the jamming was as frequency shift after shift failed to clear away the static and provide a clear reading. The command center was soon a flurry of activity as the officers tried to get a glimpse of what was happening and prepare for the inevitable attack this jamming had to be foreshadowing.

Boosting power to the radar, the operators were able to cut through some of the interference but still had only a spotty picture. Even this however was soon lost as the Nod units compensated by shifting more of their jammers to that same frequency. However, the brief image they captured was sufficient to direct the Orcas now lifting off to a better approximation of where the jammers were hiding. All this turned out for naught however as the real attack hit moments later.

At first no one noticed the dots in the sky, their attention too fixated on a possible attack by land. Those few operators that did catch a glimpse of something approaching the base could not even tell if it was more interference or the radar was genuinely picking something up. However, that soon changed as a low whoosh became louder and louder. By the time anyone took notice however it was too late as the Banshee fighters came screaming down. Unlike the scrambling GDI forces, the Banshees knew exactly where and what their target was and a rain of plasma descended upon the satellite relay. The torrent melted right through the concrete walls before eating away at the steel superstructure. A single salvo was all it took from the squadron as the building collapsed upon itself, leaving a pile of twisted metal slag in its wake.

Just as quickly as they had appeared the Banshees immediately peeled away and made a run for it. Here and there SAM towers were able to gain a hard enough lock to fire a missile, but none were able to maintain it and all wandered off, exploding harmlessly in the air. By then the jamming was also receding and the Nod units activated their stealth systems once more. In the next few days GDI would truly regret the loss, but for now they could only stand there in shock at the speed of the attack.

The first sign of trouble GDI forces picked up was a massive artillery bombardment that detonated a good third of the minefield laid to the east of the city. The explosions rippled across the landscape, creating a tidal wave of dust and dirt. Soldiers crunched down to avoid being thrown by the shockwave while walkers did likewise or ended up toppled. There was not much they could do while the ground was shaking, but those not caught in the blast zone were already reacting.

"Triangulate on the source and fire off EMPs!" the commanding colonel ordered. "I want Orcas in the air to take out anything that gets fried by the blast!"

Soldiers ran about to obey and soon enough blue orbs started arcing through the sky. As they splashed down and swept across the ground, sparks blew and nearly a dozen artillery units appeared. The Orca fighters already in the air zeroed in on them and almost lazily dodged the few missiles that rose to challenge them. The real threat however was not from below as suddenly fighter after fighter exploded. The rest quickly peeled off, barely catching a glimpse of several sleek jets racing past them. Just as quickly, they turned around for another attack run and suddenly the Orcas found themselves at the mercy of a squadron of F-22 Raptors.

Designed by an American defense contractor near the end of the 20th century, the Brotherhood managed to obtain the designs and began building them for its own air force. While the rather prohibitive cost had limited how many could be deployed during the last war, the intervening years had allowed O'Connor to assemble quite a fleet of the fighters. Even now nearly four decades after their conception, they remained formidable and easily outclassed the Orcas in an air superiority engagement.

Having established air supremacy for the time, more fighters, this time a mixture of older MIGs, appeared and began attack runs on the GDI positions. The strikes were as precise as they were deadly, taking out any SAM position the Brotherhood was aware of. A few managed to respond before meeting their end, causing the incoming fighters to break formation. Others that had remained hidden returned fire and a wave of missiles rose up in pursuit. The initial wave of fighters scattered, deploying countermeasures and filling the air with bursts of light. Luck as much as skill determined their fate as some escaped without a single tail while others found themselves at the mercy of multiple seekers. Scattered cries could be heard over the radio as pilots met their ends but they were mercifully few and far in between.

While the older fighters neutralized GDI's air defenses, the F-22s made their own run against the airbase just outside the city. Missiles smashed into hangers and parked fighters, blowing craters on the runway and toppling the air control tower. Following in their wake, the jets came in low and let loose with their Vulcan cannons. The attack lasted a mere five seconds, depleting the rest of the F-22s' munitions, but laid waste to anything that survived the initial strike. In a matter of minutes, the local GDI air presence had been reduced to scrap.

"Sir, all surviving birds are in the air, but that attack took out most of our own jets!" an officer reported.

"Contact Command and request reinforcements from Soltsy-2! Get the Orcas to go low and stay close to our surviving SAM sites!"

"Sir, we've got more incoming!"

Pausing for a moment amidst the chaos, the colonel glared at the main display. Even as the first wave was racing for safety, another series of explosions ripped across the landscape. More missiles rained down, this time targeting anti-air defenses that had just sparred with their comrades. Having located the hidden sites during their last run, the MIGs left no survivors.

"Deploy MLRS units now," the colonel ordered. "Coordinate fire to force Nod units into flight paths of our choosing. Keep them away from the defensive nodes and the main base."

The response was a sound one but GDI was still reacting to Nod's actions and thus the Brotherhood remained in control of the battle. The temporary lull in AA fire ended as more missiles streaked through the sky. Having expended their initial load, the Nod fighters were in retreat and had little to answer with. However, the next wave was already making its approach and flew straight into the maw.

Despite the ferocity of the fighter duels, another engagement was brewing closer to the ground. Squadrons of Harpies hugged the ground as they raced forth, picking off targets of opportunity. The MLRS units were easy prey with their light armor, but the helicopters were equally vulnerable to their missiles. However, the initial surprise served the Harpies well as they neutralized several MLRS units that were distracted by the jets above. Hovering over a small patch, they dispatched targets of opportunity but remained relatively static. The reason for their protectiveness soon became apparent as a large radar signature appeared.

Slow and ponderous, they were a familiar sight to any GDI soldier. After all, the Orca carryall and Orca transport had been staples of GDI forces worldwide for years now. However, the units clamped onto these carryalls were most certainly not of GDI origin. Sneaking in under all the chaos, the carryalls each deposited a single tick tank before quickly beating a retreat. The transports lingered longer as squadrons of Elite Cadre heavy infantry disembarked. Wasting no time, the tanks formed up and drove straight for the closest GDI position. The infantry spread out, securing the area for further reinforcements. Not only did GDI have a massive air battle on their hands, but now they were facing a substantial Nod force within their defensive perimeter. Even worse, the use of airlifts to quickly deploy forces was a trademark of GDI operation and now the Brotherhood had turned it around against them to bring even more units in.

Still, the situation was not as desperate as it seemed. With only a single company of tanks Nod ground forces were badly outnumbered and a concentrated counterattack would quickly wipe it out. More reinforcements were on the way, but until they landed the Nod beachhead was extremely tenuous. With the air clear of Nod jets for the moment the Orcas screamed forth with a vengeance. Salvos of missiles nailed the Harpies as they hung in the air, too slow to dodge or fight back. Nod forces on the ground reacted quickly, pouring fire into the air to try and divert the GDI counterattack. They saw limited success as several missiles smashed into the tank company.

"4th Company is moving in to engage now," an officer reported.

Nodding, the colonel looked at the situation map again. The attack by the Orcas had wrecked a good third of the Nod company, making it easy prey for the Titans now marching towards them. That did not mean he was about to leave them be.

"Order 7th Company to advance with 4th in a pincer move," the colonel ordered. "Get MLRS units to escort them, I don't want any more ambushes by Nod fighters."

"Sir!"

Again the colonel reacted as appropriate, and again he simply demonstrated the Brotherhood still controlled the flow of battle. Even before the Titans and MLRS units managed to engage the tick tanks, explosions shook their ranks. The source was readily obvious and the colonel cursed himself for letting them slip his mind. The Nod artillery units that had detonated the minefield had recovered from the EMP and whatever stealth system they were using was also functional again.

"EMP status?"

"Emitters are still charging! ETA, twelve minutes!"

The colonel cursed. "Get the Orcas over there now! And where is our fighter support!"

"Command reports that three squadrons of F-23s have been dispatched. ETA, sixteen minutes."

"Any indication of Nod fighters?"

"None sir, but it looks like more copters are approaching."

"Carryalls?"

"Negative sir, radar signature is much smaller."

A nod. "Designate the MLRS units to take them out before they get into weapons range."

"Sir!"

"Sir! Our fighter reinforcement was just ambushed! They're under attack from those new fighters the Brotherhood deployed against the Arkhangelsk relay!"

The colonel growled. Without that air support, his forces were sitting ducks when Nod sent their fighters back. While the MLRS units were perfectly capable of dealing with the slower moving Harpies, their targeting systems were woefully inadequate for tracking the faster moving jets.

"Tie the MLRS units into the radar system," the colonel ordered. "Have all tracking be routed through our sensors."

"Ye-sir! The helicopters aren't Harpies! They're firing off sidewinders!"

"What!?"

Watching the main display, the colonel saw several signals drop as MLRS units exploded. All it took was a single strike to penetrate their light armor. The advantage of range lost and without any additional anti-aircraft support, the Nod attack copters thoroughly mauled the surviving MLRS units. With the remaining Orcas trying to flush out the artillery, he had little to counter the helicopters with. Recalling them would do little good as it simply meant the Nod artillery could continue pounding away at his Titans.

"We have identification! They are Apache Longbows!"

As if that information was of any help, the colonel thought bitterly. "Status on our Orcas!"

"They report that Nod artillery has ceased fire and are hiding under cloak! They also believe that the units have moved to evade attack!"

"Recall half of the fighters and order them to engage the Longbows."

"Yes sir!"

Even as the battle raged above ground, GDI sensors began detecting seismic tremors indicating burrowers were maneuvering. The base commander acknowledged the fact, but shrugged it off as something he could not deal with immediately. The only way to force Nod subterranean units to surface was with an EMP but none of the emitters were charged and there were more important targets anyway. Combined with the fact that the base had several layers of concrete acting as a foundation specifically to prevent Nod units from popping up inside the threat seemed a distant one. Even when they were reported to be approaching the base the colonel remained unperturbed as they would need to surface outside of the base before launching any attack, and the defenses would be more than adequate to fend them off. Unfortunately, all his confidence rested on the notion that the subterranean units needed to surface to strike at him. By the time they were within the base perimeter and the first inklings occurred to him about what they were really there for, it was too late.

The blast ripped through the ground, cracking the pavement and bubbling up before crumbling. Anyone unfortunate enough to be outside was thrown aside by the shockwave or showered with debris. Few survived the experience. Even those within vehicles or walkers did not escape the destruction as they were consumed by the blossoms of fires that erupted. Those inside fared no better as the buildings began collapsing upon them. Within the first minute much of the GDI base had crumbled into shambles. After the second, a massive crater occupied the former base with twisted heaps of metal scattered inside it.

With the chain of command suddenly ruptured, GDI forces momentarily descended into chaos as they tried to figure out what was going on. That lapse played right into the Brotherhood's hands as the tank company smashed through the Titans marching on them. Those units close enough to reinforce their comrades reacted too slowly and were quickly overrun as well. Amidst the chaos, the Nod carryalls returned and dropped another company of tanks. These quickly made for the airbase on the outskirts of the city, determined seize it and remove the only place GDI could muster any noteworthy command hierarchy.

The Longbows hovered over the ground emptying their missile tubes, cutting a swath through the GDI armor. With more soldiers being brought in, the Orca fighters racing back had no shortage of targets but quickly realized they weren't alone. Rearmed after their initial strikes, MiG fighters entered the fray and picked off the Orcas with ease. Within the hour, GDI resistance crumbled and Nod forces rolled into the city of Novgorod.

Slavik sat quietly in his office, a rare moment in which he could think. The reports from the Russian front were still coming in but the gist was clear. O'Connor had engaged GDI in an open, conventional battle and defeated them. No, annihilated. The thoroughness with which he destroyed the Novgorod garrison was almost frightening, as was the force he deployed to the battle. The last time the Brotherhood had fought a battle of such scale had been in the last war. Even with the recent advances in Europe and North America Nod continued to avoid outright conventional confrontations with GDI forces, mainly because those tended to end badly for the Brotherhood. But O'Connor had done just that and actually entered the battle with fewer ground units, relying on air superiority to carry the day. The war was taking a very interesting turn.

"General O'Connor's advance is far too reckless," Oxanna said.

Glancing over at the lieutenant, an eyebrow rose on Slavik's face. "Careful, lieutenant. That comment can easily be construed as insubordination, or worse."

"My apologies, general, if I spoke out of turn."

Slavik grunted. "Just mind your words around others. Some would view your statement as defeatism, but there is some truth to them. O'Connor may have taken Novgorod, but GDI is not about to let this slide. We have plenty of other matters to worry about."

"The Israelis have dug in," Oxanna stated, "and GDI is actually making good progress containing Marzaq in Europe. They've routed our forces in Poland and are advancing south even as we speak."

Slavic growled. "Marzaq. That fool's allowed the GDI theatre commander to retake control of the pace of battle."

"Major General James William Langley. Should we try to arrange his early retirement?"

"We have, and without success. The good general has significantly tightened security and is even cooperating with mutants to help secure his rear. The Ardennes operation is also proving to be impossible to carry out with Langley's dogs sniffing about. No, if Langley is to be removed, I'm afraid we'll need to go about it directly."

Tapping his desk, Slavik considered the possibilities. Attacking Paris would be a difficult proposition. Even though Langley had deployed his forces all across Europe, the city's known defenses were quite extensive. There were also rumors of additional, hidden systems just waiting to be sprung. The Black Hand was not equipped for such a venture and the majority of Nod's European forces were bogged down in the German campaign.

"There is always the direct approach."

Slavik shook his head. "Kane seems to be reserving the ICBM for something else. Perhaps when more are transferred to Cairo."

"Assuming more are."

Glancing over at Oxanna, an eyebrow rose on Slavik's face. "Do you have a problem with the general?"

"Begging your pardon sir, but O'Connor is not nearly as removed from the factional struggles within the Brotherhood as he pretends to be. He's pursuing his own agenda."

"That goes without saying," said Slavik. "But do you have any reason to believe that agenda is to the detriment of the Brotherhood?"

"Not, as such," Oxanna reluctantly admitted. "However, his actions do not have to be directly disadvantageous to the Brotherhood to cause harm to us. After all, his Elite Cadre is nothing more than a private army directly loyal to him. Is that not highly suggestive?"

"Is that particularly different from the other major factions?"

"Perhaps not. But none of the others are within striking distance of Cairo and have the military capacity to succeed."

"Are you suggesting O'Connor would go for a coup?"

"I'm suggesting that it's a distinct possibility, one that we are not prepared to deal with."

It was a valid point, Slavik conceded mentally. "And how would you propose we prepare for such a possibility?"

"Have that ICBM pointed at O'Connor."

Slavik chuckled. "And do you believe O'Connor never considered that himself?"

"Does it matter? Once we replace the targeting system, any lockouts he placed in it will be rendered ineffective."

"Why the sudden suspicion, lieutenant?"

Oxanna's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps because you are so willing to trust him. I know he was your mentor and predecessor, but that does not mean he won't betray you if it was to his advantage."

"Or I him were it in mine? One thing that O'Connor is right about is that this constant backstabbing only serves to weaken the Brotherhood as a whole, wasting resources and energy that could be directed against GDI. So far he has remained true to that. However, I am not naïve enough to believe that he won't eventually make some kind of move. What I do believe is that he is loyal to the Brotherhood and will not endanger Nod merely for his personal ambitions."

"If you say so, sir."

The look on her face told Slavik his second still remained unhappy about O'Connor, but their options were limited right now. The dissatisfaction Oxanna was voicing were not unique to herself or even within the Black Hand. A number of the Confessor Corps were deeply unhappy with O'Connor, possibly because during his tenure as leader of the Black Hand he was emphatically unenthusiastic about their methods.

The Black Hand today was greatly changed from the force commanded by General Gideon Ravenshaw, though under Slavik's command their zeal was starting to become more expressed. O'Connor's recruitment of most of the moderate, cooler headed members of the Black Hand for his Elite Cadre also meant those left behind were now operating with less restraint. Still, its soldiers acted in a highly professional manner when the shooting was underway and that was what ultimately counted.

In fact, there were several ongoing operations where the Black Hand's martial prowess would be needed in conjunction with its reputation for deception. Accessing his console, Slavik brought up a map and zoomed in on Spain. Gibraltar provided an excellent jump off point for any GDI assault into North Africa, a threat Kane wanted neutralized. Fortunately, accomplishing that did not require the Brotherhood to actually occupy the city. They simply needed to render it incapable of supporting any invasion.

The city possessed a large port protected by the supposedly invincible Rock, which made direct assault suicidal. Hence the operation now underway wouldn't even try wrecking the port until the Rock was taken out of consideration.

"We should be getting reports any time now," Oxanna said as she looked at the display. "If the weapon worked that is."

"We'll know even if it doesn't work," said Slavik. "If nothing else, this new commander O'Connor sent is proving highly competent."

This simply drew a frown from Oxanna. "And are you certain O'Connor's program isn't to insert agents into the ranks of the Brotherhood ultimately loyal to him?"

"Actually, on that point I'm quite sure that is what O'Connor is doing."

"Then why are you helping him?"

The look Slavik shot Oxanna caused the lieutenant to cringe. Sitting back, she awaited the inevitable reprimand.

"Have you ever considered the possibility that I too am loyal to General O'Connor? Out of all the major factions, his was the only one that remained true to the vision of Kane during the interregnum. He furthered the various plans Kane laid out before his disappearance while the others sought to build their own kingdoms and it is with the fruits of his efforts that we now stand poised to destroy GDI. And remember, he was Black Hand. He left us not because of disloyalty, but because he saw other work for him to do so that the Brotherhood would be prepared for the journey we are now about to embark on. So unless you have proof of duplicity, then do not waste time trying to discredit O'Connor."

Oxanna flushed, both in anger and embarrassment. No one liked being lectured like this, but Slavik was right. She could suspect O'Connor all she wanted but unless she had proof, those suspicions meant little when dealing with someone of such high standing in Kane and Slavik's eyes. But her instincts continued calling to her, telling her to watch O'Connor. Perhaps she would find the needed evidence, but until then she would need to restrain her commentary. With a curt nod, Oxanna signaled her acceptance of Slavik's words.

"Then let us attend to more pressing matters," Slavik said.

As he finished the sentence, the console beeped. Accessing the message, Slavik grinned as he read the contents.

"It seems the new weapon worked."

"Then the Rock is neutralized?"

"Indeed. Another product of O'Connor's planning."

Oxanna grimaced but nodded anyway. It was true, the general had provided quite a few innovative weapons now being deployed against GDI. The one that was just successfully used was a product of the seemingly endless contingency plans O'Connor's Cadre produced. A modified bunker buster missile, the weapon was designed to collapse tunnels and cause cave ins through the use of sonic vibrations. Once the missile penetrated a target, it would randomly pulsate until it found the resonate frequency and then begin vibrating at that frequency. This would result in something akin to a mini earthquake, destroying any tunnels within its range.

Despite the weapon's power, it had only been tested in controlled conditions and there were plenty of things that could go wrong. The weapon needed to be firmly lodged into whatever structure it was seeking to destroy or else its vibration would not transfer sufficiently into the material. That was the primary reason for mounting it on a missile, to ensure sufficient penetration. The weapon could also be disabled should enemy soldiers get to it before it could cause a collapse. With these factors, many had doubted the wisdom of relying on it for the mission, but the Brotherhood had little else that could be used against the Rock.

One of the unspoken questions surrounding the weapon was what it was originally intended for. Besides the Rock, GDI had few other facilities that could be attacked in such a manner. It hardly seemed efficient to dedicate so many resources to developing such a specialized weapon. One disturbing possibility was that this weapon was created to destroy the global tunnel networks Nod currently relied on for much of its transportation needs. If that was the case, there was no telling what other ways O'Connor could strike at Nod's infrastructure.

"Lieutenant Katar should be proceeding to the next phase of the operation now," Slavik said.

Oxanna nodded. The second phase was nowhere as risky since it relied on tried and true technology. Because of the distances between Gibraltar and Morocco, it was never a question of whether the Brotherhood could attack the city. The problem was always that GDI could react quickly to any such assault and hit back, hard. Gibraltar possessed one of the few large emplacements of dedicated artillery units, which were more than capable of firing back at anything Nod used. But that ability to fight back relied on the coordination offered by the GDI command complex buried under the Rock.

With the successful destruction of the geological icon, that coordination was gone and would allow the Brotherhood to take advantage of its stealth technology to confuse the defenders. Within a matter of hours, to port of Gibraltar and its nearby industrial zones would be reduced to so much rubble. That kind of result Oxanna had no qualms about.

"Report the situation, calmly," Langley ordered, perhaps futilely.

"Sir! The tunnels under the Rock have all collapsed as far as we can tell. Sonic probes aren't picking up any pockets of significant size. We've lost contact with the command center and the first thing the Nod artillery hit was our radar array. We're partially blind down here and every time we try sending Orcas to flush out their guns, they keep ambushing them with fighters or SAM emplacements."

"What about your own artillery?"

"I'm keeping them moving, but without better sensor data we can't get accurate targeting resolutions. We've knocked out a few of their SAM sites, but they also seem to have mobile anti-air units as well."

Langley grunted. At least the lieutenant was thinking clearly. "Has any Nod air units tried attacking?"

The haggard looking officer shook his head. "No sir. They've mostly confined their sorties to intercepting our attacks. From the looks of it, they don't have much in the way of air support."

That was small comfort, but at least provided Langley with a few more options. Looking at the situation map, he cursed the fact that no ion cannon satellites were overhead. That was likely part of Nod's attack plan so there was no helping it. Even if there was one, the destruction of the uplink would have made targeting tricky.

"I'm sending in recon birds," Langley said. "I want your artillery to be ready to begin bombardment the moment they start relaying targeting information."

"Yes sir!"

Glad to have a chance to fight back, the lieutenant immediately began issuing orders. From his vantage point Langley watched the swarm of drones sweep towards the Moroccan shore. Much like the Predator UAVs they were descended from, the Falcon drone was designed for reconnaissance of hostile territory. However, with the increasing use of stealth technology by the Brotherhood, the Falcon possessed several modifications specifically intended to counter it. Though the range of their individual sensors was limited, each Falcon carried a dozen sensor pods it could deploy to create a net. With eight drones and their respective nets linked together, GDI should be able to locate and destroy the cloaked units before the UAVs themselves were shot down.

Data began streaming in and the base's computers quickly correlated them into something useful. Beeps appeared on the map, indicating stealth units the drones were picking up. They did not have enough sensitivity to identify each one, but now Langley's men had something to shoot at. The GDI artillery units wasted little time doing exactly that and salvos of rounds smashed into the Nod positions. Images of smoking wrecks popped up on screen as the drones recorded their demise as targets were tallied off.

"Confirmed kills on eight Nod anti-air positions and three artillery units," Jackson reported. "Nod units are moving."

"EVA, any sign of air units?"

"Three aerial vehicles detected on approach, profiles suggest MIG-31 fighters."

Older craft, but once close enough their radars might be sufficient to acquire locks on the drones. They were also fast enough to hold their own against the Orca fighters and would likely emerge victorious. The best he could hope for was that the MIGs would need to enter the effective range of Gibraltar's remaining surface to air missiles in order to get locks on the drones.

As the jets veered closer, it looked as of Langley would get his wish. Whether it meant anything at this point however another matter. The bombardment had already wrecked much of the port, rendering it useless for months at least. But Langley was not quite prepared to let this slide. The Brotherhood might have thought the current deadlock in Europe meant GDI forces were strained to the breaking point, but the recent securing of the French border significantly increased Langley's strategic flexibility. The attack on Gibraltar would become an opportunity to exercise that flexibility, even if it meant the loss of the city's strategic facilities.

"Sir, Nod forces are withdrawing," Jackson suddenly said.

Frowning, Langley looked at the map. The three fighters EVA detected were also peeling away and multiple units along the front were trying to withdraw to outside the range of the GDI guns.

"Interesting. So they don't want to escalate the battle."

"It would appear so sir," Jackson agreed. "Neutralizing Gibraltar seems to have been sufficient for them."

Considering the situation, Langley swept his eyes across the situation map. The attack so far did not suggest a general offensive from the south or Nod forces would be landing troops in Spain already. Approaching from Italy was tricky because of the mountainous terrain, not to mention the heavy Tiberium infestation. The East Europe front was already stalled and O'Connor still had some ways to go before he could launch an invasion from Russia. This suggested the attack was meant as a diversion to take pressure off the other fronts. The logical response would be to fort down and prepare for any attack that might come from Morocco, at least if he was a politician. And since Langley wasn't a politician, he had other possibilities in mind.

"Major, get me Granger."

"Yes sir." A very short pause followed. "Colonel Granger on secure channel six, sir."

Putting on his headset, the image of the colonel was projected into Langley's eyes for his sight only.

"Jack, how are you with the mop up around Sarajevo?"

"Mostly done, sir. About to transfer north and give the Poles some help."

"Change of plans. Get your ass over to Spain. I'm giving you three armored and four infantry companies. I want a hard strike mission into Morocco planned within the next two weeks. Your objective is to take Tangier and eliminate the Nod infrastructure in the region."

"Yes sir. What kind of support am I looking at?"

"You'll have air support from Morόn and additional fire support from the Mediterranean 6th Naval Squadron. It's a destroyer squadron, but they're all _Daring_ Mark IIs."

"That'll have to do sir."

Langley nodded though he too grimaced. "Indeed."

The increasing spread of Tiberium across the world's oceans meant most of the world's navy was confined to port or outright scrapped. Ironically the few ships that could cross the oceans were the massive supercarriers and a new generation of battleships, but most of those ships were in the Pacific theatre and the few in Langley's command were preoccupied with operations in the Baltic Sea.

"We have drones overhead and runs will be made against their anti-air defenses over the next week or so. That should make the initial airlift easier."

"What about a deep penetration sensor array, sir?"

"You'll get one," said Langley. "If you find a tunnel, bury it."

"Yes sir!"

Taking off the headset, Langley terminated the connection. If Nod was hoping that destroying Gibraltar would decrease the pressure on their forces, they were going to be sadly mistaken. But at the same time, there was plenty of other work to do. Walking over to another large display, Langley watched reports stream in from the French front. 5th battalion was already advancing into southern Germany and sweeping through multiple Nod outposts. Three infantry companies were right behind them mopping up and offering support where needed, but the speed with which the armored battalion punched through the Nod lines was making it difficult for them to keep up. Perhaps that was inevitable, since that battalion was not equipped with Titans.

As powerful as they were, Titan walkers were quite slow compared to conventional, tracked vehicles on open ground. Even on hilly terrain, tracked vehicles still could outpace Titans even if they needed to go around certain points. This was an issue Langley sought to eliminate when he worked as a consultant for a new tank design that would go back to the basics. 5th battalion had received the first batch to field test and they were certainly living up to expectations, though they had yet to run into any entrenched positions.

Perhaps ironically, the one infantry company that wasn't being outpaced by the tanks was composed completely of Wolverines. Whatever the faults of the Titans, their smaller cousins were specifically designed for fast paced engagements.

"Update from one of the ground teams," Jackson said as she caught up with her superior. "They've managed to take an entrance into a Nod tunnel network intact."

"Have they begun mapping it?"

"Yes sir, but their progress is being slowed by various security systems and traps. There also appears to be a more extensive self destruct system designed to take out parts of the network without compromising the integrity of other sectors."

"Not surprising. I don't suppose they've found a way to disarm it?"

"They're still looking, but so far it looks to be highly distributed. There doesn't seem to be a single controller they can neutralize to secure a large section of the tunnels."

"Pity. I don't suppose they managed to take any of their systems?"

"A few harddrives were still intact. InOps is working on decrypt right now. And sir? You've been up for nearly 30 hours."

"And you've been up for just as long," Langley shot back. "So unless you also intend to get some shuteye, then I don't see any reason to turn in."

Perhaps it was due to lack of sleep, but Jackson found herself grounding her teeth in frustration. The reason both were up so long was due to one crisis after another, first with all the chaos in Russia and then the attack on Gibraltar. Even after all this she wouldn't be surprised if the Brotherhood managed to pull another one on GDI which would keep them up even longer. However, after a certain point the mind and body would simply collapse and they would be absolutely useless in responding to a new situation.

"Then with your permission sir, I would like to turn in for the night."

Langley chuckled but nodded. Like any good officer, he needed to make sure his own people didn't overdo it looking out for him. He might hold a higher rank, but he only succeeded because of all those under him. Having chased Jackson off to bed, he yawned and nodded to the duty officer. It would be nice if nothing else screwed up in the next eight hours, but the Brotherhood was rarely so obliging.

Raging fires and charred wrecks greeted Granger as he stepped off the transport. The initial bombardment had wiped out Nod's anti-air defenses, clearing the way for his forces to move in. Considering the shells and missiles probably cost upwards of a couple million in total, it seemed a fair exchange. Titans stepped out from the transports and dozens of Wolverines fanned out to secure the perimeter. Only after Granger was certain the area was clear did the deep penetration sensor array land. He already knew the politicos back in Paris were screaming about losing another one to field operations so it would behoove him to not let it get blown up out here.

The destroyers offshore continued firing at targets of opportunity fed to them by the drones, keeping Nod from approaching Granger's beachhead. Granger wouldn't have been able to hear even himself above the explosions were it not for the dampeners as he issued orders. Reports flowed back to him, telling of Nod units pulling back instead of engaging. Those that were too slow ended up being chewed apart by the Wolverines, though fortunately no significant armored presence was detected.

"Sir, we're detecting seismic activity," a voice reported.

"Position."

The information was quickly displayed on Granger's HUD. Not unexpectedly the trio of signals was headed right for him. Traditionally GDI relied on EMP emplacements to flush out subterranean vehicles and then take them out with air strikes. Too bad the EMP systems in Gibraltar were all destroyed. Still, Langley was a careful planner and had provided his subordinate with a backup.

"Squad six, nine, and fourteen, escort the mobile emitter forward. When it activates, take out any enemy units that pop up."

"Yes sir!"

A prototype, Langley was risking much be deploying it in actual combat conditions. Granger only found out about its existence when he was given it for this mission and doubted there could be more than a handful built. Considering his superior's long association with GDI's R&D section Granger wasn't terribly surprised with its existence.

The video feed cut out as the mobile EMP platform activated, scrambling all the electronics of the soldiers accompanying it. However, a few short minutes later the radio crackled.

"Threat neutralized sir, it was two devil tongues and an APC."

"Good work. Now get that thing back here before Nod decides to take a serious crack at it."

"Yes sir."

Even while that skirmish was fought other engagements continued aplenty. With his full armored force landed Granger began his march south. Nod artillery was starting to pick up but Granger's own support responded with deadly accuracy. As cunning as the Brotherhood was, when faced with the combined arms approach of a GDI assault they had little stand up to it with. Well, that was not entirely true. That Russian theater commander had been quite the exception. Granger grimaced, wondering if and when he would ever have to face the man.

The mobile construction vehicle arrived not much later and engineers quickly spilled out. Quick dry concrete was quickly poured to create a thick layer of pavement to prevent any further sneak attacks. Within the first three hours two generators were already up and a small airstrip was laid down. More reinforcements streamed in, bringing modules for a refinery and barracks. However, Granger was present for none of this as he was already heading out hunting any Nod stragglers.

"A few fighters have tried to probe our defenses, but our own units have kept them properly deterred," an officer reported to Granger. "There's a large armored force further south that seems to be massing for an attack and we're seeing significant troop movement in the region."

Looking at the map, Granger grunted. "They must be stripping their garrisons bare to put together that force."

"Yes sir. According to InOps just last week a Black Hand detachment was also in the area, but they pulled out a few days ago. We'll be mostly fighting Nod's regular forces."

"What about that shaft the DPS array found? How many defenders are still there?"

"Hard to say sir, but we haven't observed any units leaving the place. I don't think the Brotherhood is prepared to expose that particular position just to dislodge us."

"Fair enough."

The shaft in question was on the top of Granger's list of targets, even higher than the Nod armored force advancing on his beachhead. While the majority of his forces were with him, the base should have sufficient firepower to hold out until more reinforcements arrived. Worst come to worst, they could risk firing the ion cannon without a relay for final target telemetry. However, this shaft might well lead into the massive tunnel network used by the Brotherhood for much of their movement and that made it worth the risk.

Peering out at the Nod base, Granger could make out a flurry of activity. The series of obelisks positioned around its perimeter would make it tough to crack. Then again, this was the largest Nod base in the region that GDI was aware of. But at the same time Nod forces seemed content to button down and weather the attack. Quite the contrast from some of their more daring officers who actively sought to take the battle to GDI instead of simply waiting. However, Granger wasn't going to complain since it let him control the pace of battle.

"Guns in place sir and the destroyers report clean signal."

"Good. Weapons free, begin bombardment."

"Yes sir!"

With Gibraltar in shambles, Langley had let Granger borrow the artillery pieces assigned to the garrison. Now they were turned on the Nod base, spitting fire at the defenses. It didn't take long for counterbattery fire to start, though the GDI units had already moved. Salvos were exchanged and to Granger's annoyance the volume of fire from the base did not diminish. Apparently the Nod commander was competent enough to also move his own artillery.

"Sir, base is reporting increased activity underground. They think something is traveling along the tunnels."

"Any details?"

"Sorry sir, but the DPS array is too far away to get anything more."

"So Nod probably just sent a whole batch of reinforcements," Granger muttered. "Then we better hit them before they can set them loose. Titans, begin advancing on the northeast section. Watch out for that second obelisk, it's still operation from the looks of it. Wolverines, stay close behind. Once the obelisk is down, advance and act as a screen."

Acknowledgments flood back and units began moving out, all knowing some wouldn't make it back. The lone obelisk waiting for them would make them pay dearly for its demise but it needed to die so they marched forth anyway. Even before they came in range smaller turrets popped up and lashed out at the Titans with red beams. The frontal armor of the Titans easily stopped one or two blasts, but the turrets adjusted quickly and aimed lower at the vulnerable joints. Even as they did, the Titans responded and fire blossomed down their line as their guns roared. Fireballs exploded from each hit and twisted chunks of metal went flying. While the Titans wrought great destruction upon the defenses, their single salvo left survivors and those survivors responded savagely.

More red beams shot out, blasting the legs of their attackers. Several of the walkers toppled over but others survived the strike, albeit still crippled. Nevertheless the Titans continued their advance, their second salvo blasting away those turrets still standing. However, the worst was yet to come as they finally entered range of the obelisk.

A low but audible hum signaled the imminent attack but there was no way to see who would fall victim to it. Suddenly a bright red beam sliced through the air, melting through the Titan's armor with ease and igniting its fuel and ammo. The walker exploded a fiery death but its comrades were quick to retaliate. Rounds slammed into the tower, chipping away at the metal plating protecting the delicate emitter. Again a hum sounded and again another Titan was blasted away but the rest continued firing. Finally the neck of the obelisk cracked and the entire structure came crashing down to the cheers of the GDI soldiers.

With their primary defense down, Nod soldiers surged forth to meet the attackers but suddenly found a charge of Wolverines thundering forward to meet them. The lightly armored units fell easily under the stream of bullets the Wolverines rained down and even the cyborgs were hard pressed to continue their advance. Just as the Wolverines reached the gate it suddenly lowered as if inviting them in. However, the forward units quickly came to a screeching halt and even tried to step back. They did not get far as green bolts struck each one, splashing plasma over the walkers and melting right through their frontal armor. No second round was needed as each one fell as smoking wrecks.

"Holy shit."

Granger didn't know which of his officers uttered the curse but quickly concurred. Stepping over the wrecks were three cyborg commandos, more in one place than he had ever seen before. The towering monstrosities were as rare as they were powerful and a single one could take down an entire tank company thanks to its plasma cannon. From the feed he watched as they suddenly leapt forth, closing the distance between themselves and the Titans. The larger walkers opened fire, pouring fire against the cyborgs in an attempt to overwhelm them but the few shots that hit their mark was shrugged off easily by the monstrosities.

"Pull back immediately," Granger ordered. "Artillery, switch targets to the commandos!"

"Sir!"

Even as he spoke the Titans were coming under attack. Coordinating their fire, the commandos took down Titan after Titan as they decimated the GDI ranks. Their targeting was precise so as not to waste a shot and while waiting for their plasma cannons to recharge spat chaingun fire to continue hounding their targets. Even so the cyborgs continued moving, making difficult targets especially for the artillery. Using their powerful legs, the commandos leapt great distances and zigzagged as they advanced. Even the Wolverines were having trouble keeping pace with the half-human war machines.

"Sir! Base is reporting that the large Nod force has begun moving towards us! ETA, twenty minutes!"

"Bloody hell," Granger finally swore.

Conventional tactics for dealing with cyborg commandos involved essentially bulldozing them with wave after wave of Titans. Even if Granger had enough units to take that approach it would leave him completely defenseless against the Nod force now moving on him. Thus the only thing he could count on was unconventional warfare.

"Larkins, get your men up there," Granger shouted into the radio. "I want those cyborgs neutralized!"

"Yes sir!"

There was no hesitation in the acknowledgment and the soldiers were even now running forward. One of the infantry companies Granger received for this mission was actually another SWD unit. Or more accurately, several SWD platoons merged into an adhoc company. Either way, they were his best bet in taking down those cyborgs and still having enough strength left to fight off the Nod force.

As the light infantry ran forward they passed Titans and Wolverines fleeing in the other direction. The explosions grew louder as they got closer and by the time they reached the battle there was plenty of wreckage for cover. Before the cyborgs could target them, the men and women of 18th company supplied their own greeting in the form of grenades and disks. The hail of explosives momentarily stunned the cyborg, leaving it exposed to more fire. A steady stream of rounds peppered it until the cyborg jumped high in the air. From its vantage point it easily picked out the GDI soldiers and returned fire, cutting down several with its chaingun. However, it paid for the maneuver as a series of missiles raced up and slammed into it. Losing control of its descent, the cyborg slammed into the earth and again found itself under bombardment.

The other two cyborgs quickly ceased pursing the Titans and proceeded to help their compatriot. Suddenly one fell back, a round bouncing off its helmet. The other fell likewise but they quickly recovered with a mere dent to show for the attack. They quickly traced the origin of the shots and charged forth, determined to prevent any further strikes. Even though their armor protected them this time, enough rounds to their head would eventually penetrate and disable them.

Pulling back, the snipers left their comrades to stall the cyborgs as they repositioned. Grenades flew into their paths and blew craters around them but did little to slow the rampaging commandos. But with all the fire being poured upon them something had to give, and something did. Whether it was luck or skill a round pierced the side of a cyborg's knee and blew out the bionics. The cyborg toppled and careened forward before sliding to a halt, being showered with gunfire the entire time. Its partner did its best to fight back, taking aim at any GDI soldier in its sights but now was completely surrounded. Every time it opened fire on one GDI soldier another popped up to take shots at it.

Despite the amount of firepower poured on it, the lone cyborg was still not down. It continued returning fire even with its legs shattered and the plasma cannon fried. However, the chaingun was plenty dangerous against light infantry and more than one soldier fell victim to the random fire. However, with the cyborg immobilized, it was no longer their job to kill the thing. While a few soldiers continued firing others simply pointed their weapons at it, illuminating the cyborg. Seconds later a high pitched screech signaled the descent of a missile. The soldiers barely registered its presence before it slammed into the ground, cracking the ground and sending a wave of dust and heat in the wake of its explosion. Two more blasts followed, signaling the deaths of the other two cyborgs. When they were finally able to get back on their feet, the members of 18th company saw only a charred crater where their opponents used to lay.

Smiling, Granger nodded to another officer. "Flatten the base."

"Yes sir."

Though without a relay, the Nod base before them was a large, stationary target. As such the satellite hovering above them had little trouble adjusting its orientation until it was locked on. Then, as if God himself was exacting his divine wrath, the sky seemed to open above the base. Moments later a massive beam struck the center of the base. The air around it swirled with ion activity until a superheated clump of gas had formed. It exploded seconds later, cracking the earth with the force of the blast and swirling into a firestorm. The ground shook for what seemed like an eternity and when it finally stopped a stiff silence descended. The Nod base was no more, simple a blackened piece of earth mixed with shards of obsidian, the heat having melted the very sand surrounding it.

A looking of satisfaction crossed Granger's face but it disappeared just as quickly. One victory was passed but another was waiting to be won. And perhaps if they won enough, they could win the war too.

End of Chapter 9

I'm dropping the location and timestamp thing. It's starting to get annoying to keep track of and quite frankly doesn't mesh well with some of the transitions. Anyway, we are now moving into the stage of all out war between GDI and Nod. Tiberian Sun was never very good at portraying the fact that you were engaged in a global war at times, but that's just my thought. Tiberium War, despite the annoyances I find in its storyline, did a much better job of getting through the fact that you were fighting a major war. We're also getting a peek at some of the technologies introduced in the expansion and later games, simply because the R&D process takes significantly longer than what is suggested in the games, meaning GDI was working on the stuff long before we actually got to play with them in the games.

I'm still a bit dissatisfied with the current way the story is working out, or at least the flow and pacing of it so I'll be doing tweaks as I go. We'll see how it goes.

Z98


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Portents

_I Never Think of the Future. It Comes Soon Enough._

_Albert Einstein_

"This is some weird shit," was Commander McNeil's ever eloquent and informative commentary on the current situation.

"Can't say I disagree," Chandra said. "But I suggest we save our admiration and awe for later, sir. That ion storm's about to hit and until it's over, we're not going to get any backup."

"Right."

Stepping away from the strange ship, McNeil surveyed the hastily erected defenses. The RPG turrets would be very useful in holding off Nod tanks and he wasn't terribly worried about the Brotherhood managing to fight through his perimeter. It was the complete lack of pavement that concerned him. If Devil's Tongues or APCs got through, things were liable to get very messy.

"Alright, everyone hunker down! Set up a perimeter around the ship and don't let anything through!"

McNeil joined his men behind the sandbags, though it wasn't like there was anything he could do but wait. They needed to weather this storm and if the ship survived, they could move it to a more secure location for the eggheads to drool over. Even now, the few engineers he had with him couldn't seem to help themselves.

"Hey! Get your ass back over here!" McNeil shouted.

The engineer in question reluctantly obeyed and retreated to the barracks and McNeil sighed. The situation was making him a bit more irritable than usual, but he had never dreamed he'd find a UFO when joining GDI. But the pieces were falling into place now. While McNeil was nowhere as much an analyst as his friend Langley, even he could figure out that the attack on Phoenix was supposed to keep GDI from discovering the ship. It might have worked too, had McNeil failed to retake the base and route Nod forces in the area. But Vega's men were nowhere up to GDI's standards and his regular forces rarely dug in to fight. His elite forces on the other hand were considerably more determined and it had taken nearly two days to overrun the ones protecting the ship. Now more were on the way to destroy the ship rather than let GDI examine it.

Explosions interrupted McNeil's musings and he accessed the feed from one of the turrets. The storm was wrecking havoc with the transmission, but he could still make out three tick tanks slowly advancing and firing. Fortunately the RPG towers slightly outranged the tanks and one scored a direct hit on the lead's turret. The other tanks swerved around their wounded comrade, trying to get close enough to get into effective range. Their next shots landed around the defenses but even a hit wouldn't have penetrated from so far.

"Grenadiers, take positions and unload the moment you can!" McNeil ordered.

A squad of disk throwers quickly complied, but fortunately their services were not needed. The RPG tower continued firing rapidly, first crippling the advancing tanks before blowing apart the disabled vehicles. The first attack repulsed, McNeil rotated through streams from the other defenses to see if the Brotherhood had another force moving in. His diligence was quickly awarded as he caught sight of Nod forces advancing from the north. Two cyborgs were in the lead, but fortunately even those walking monstrosities were no match for the Vulcan cannons watching his rear. Still, dealing with them might let the other soldiers slip through.

"Squad three, four, and five, follow me."

The riflemen and disk throwers quickly obeyed and took up positions along the sandbag wall. The Vulcan cannons roared as they rained lead on the cyborgs. As expected the monstrosities came to a halt under the withering fire while dozens of other footmen rushed past. McNeil's men greeted them with bullets and disks and without the advantage of cover the Nod advance was decimated. A few tried to crawl away but no mercy was shown. GDI may have had strict rules on treatment of prisoners of war, but these men weren't prisoners yet and never would be.

"Diggers!"

The cry over the radio elicited a string of curses from McNeil as he rushed back towards the ship. Two devil tongues were unleashing hell, incinerating a squad that had taken up positions next to the ship. However, that left them completely open to the disk throwers waiting further away and a hail of explosives tore apart the lightly armored burrowers. But the devil tongues were merely the vanguard as three APCs surfaced seconds later. Out spilled Nod soldiers, sowing chaos in the middle of the camp as they opened fire. GDI defenders pulled back from the sandbag perimeter to help contain this new threat, even as their absence risked more Nod troops swarming through.

Taking aim, McNeil dropped two of the Nod infantry before he was forced to dive for cover. However, it wasn't the Nod soldiers shooting at him that were the biggest problem. Others were turning their attention on the strange ship and appeared to be setting more charges. What they expected to accomplish McNeil didn't know, since the last booby trap hadn't even scratched the thing. But as several Nod soldiers started heading inside the ship, McNeil's worries grew. If blowing up the ship from outside wasn't working, then doing it from the inside might.

"Take them down! Take them down!" McNeil shouted.

Spurred on by his voice, GDI soldiers charged forward and ran the gauntlet of bullets. Even as they fell, the Nod soldiers seemed taken aback by the surge and their firing became confused. The survivors did not last much longer and the last hostile outside the ship fell not long later. Inside was another matter and McNeil immediately charged through the door the Nod soldiers had been kind enough to open. Assuming the ship survived, that was at least one less mystery to solve.

An eerie blue light filled the ship corridors but was far too dim for human eyesight. Flashlights quickly made up the difference and the team moved in. Despite the risk, McNeil hurried and rushed through the corridors. However, it wasn't long before he came to a screeching halt.

"What the hell?"

"What is it sir?" Chandra asked over the comm.

"Look."

Leaning over, McNeil made sure his camera caught the corpses of the Nod soldiers. The cracked visor on one of them was blotted in blood and gore while a clean hole in the other's breast marked the cause of death.

"Damn good shots," McNeil said, admiring the work even as his anxiety grew. Whatever killed these men likely wouldn't have any qualms about killing him.

"As much as I'm glad to have someone else do our work for us sir, I suggest you keep moving," Chandra said. "We saw five soldiers enter here and there's only two bodies so far."

"Right."

Before they could take another step the ship shuddered, forcing the men to grab hold of the walls.

"This is McNeil, what the hell was that?"

"Sorry sir, one of the tanks managed to charge through. We got it though and the storm seems to be clearing up. Dropships are already en route with reinforcements."

"About time for some good news," McNeil muttered. "Keep sharp, sergeant. I don't need this thing coming down on top of me."

"Yes sir."

As the exchange concluded, McNeil found himself walking into a much larger chamber.

"Stay alert people, just because the lights are off doesn't mean nobody's home," McNeil warned, though they already knew something was here thanks to the corpses.

The other soldiers peeled off to cover more ground as McNeil looked about.

"This is some crazy technology. You getting all this Chandra?"

"Recording the whole thing sir," the lieutenant replied. "Looks like Vega's boys cleaned it out."

Another step and a thud hit him from behind. Instinct more than reflexes reacted and his rifle snapped up only to be quickly brushed aside. Another swing was met by McNeil's arm and the deadlock slowed his attacker enough for him to finally see his guess was correct, or close enough.

"Not bad for a blunt," the woman complimented.

"Mutant Shiner," McNeil said, looking over his assailant.

"My name's Umagon and you'd better use it," the woman snapped. "Unless you want your head cut off?"

"I don't," McNeil said, lowering his rifle.

It seemed there would be an opportunity to do so in the future as Umagon released McNeil's rifle and pulled back her knife.

"I can help you," Umagon suddenly said. "I can help you find Vega."

The name broke through McNeil's surprise. "Vega?"

Removing her veil, Umagon revealed a hard visage. "The Brotherhood holds our leader Tratos in a highly secured medical colony south of here. We don't have the resources to break him out. Without you. But, you can't find Vega without us."

McNeil stared at the woman for a few seconds, unsure what to make of her. After all, her idea of a greeting was trying to stick a knife in his back.

"Why should I trust you?"

Umagon scoffed. "Unlike you blunts, the Forgotten are a people of honor."

An interesting claim, but honor was a double edged blade. There was no telling in what ways he could trip over that blade. But if the mutant really could lead him to Vega, he was prepared to at least try wielding that blade.

"I'll contact my superiors," McNeil said. "See if we can work something out."

"Pray that you do," Umagon said.

McNeil frowned, wondering how much of that was a threat and how much of it was desperation on the mutant's part. "I assume those bodies were your handiwork?"

"Of course. They thought they were alone and moved sloppily. I taught them to not take their lives for granted."

"By taking them?"

"Would you prefer they succeeded in destroying this ship?"

"Well, no."

"Then refrain from making useless complaints."

McNeil was used to dealing with strong and confident women. One of his immediate subordinates was one, after all. But there was an added edge to the one before him now. Deciding discretion was preferable to the reaming the mutant seemed prepared to hand him, McNeil refrained from any further snarky comments. Plenty of real business needed handling anyway.

"How'd you get in here?" he asked. "We couldn't even figure out where the stupid door was."

"Not here," Umagon said. "I'll tell you more later, but we should get out of here. The scorpions stripped the place bare and I'm not sure they were too careful while doing it."

"Sounds like a good idea," McNeil agreed. "Chandra, did the others find anything else?"

"No sir," the radio cracked. "Nothing living at least. The rest of the Nod soldiers were already dead."

"Yeah well, I've found the one responsible. A Shi-woman named Umagon. We need to get out of here and debrief her. Maybe figure out what the hell is going on."

"Understood sir. And sir, dropships have arrived with our reinforcements and satellite recon is reporting that Nod units are withdrawing."

"Let's not get too comfortable, lieutenant. I'll see you outside."

"Sir."

Looking over at the mutant, McNeil waved for her to go. "Ladies first."

"What, don't trust me to walk behind you?"

"Well, you made quite an impression with that body trail. So if it's all the same to you, I'd like to have my eyes on those blades at all times."

Chuckling, Umagon walked off. McNeil was right behind and the more he looked at her, the more he knew she was going to be trouble. Hopefully he'd live long enough to be the old fart telling youngsters how things were in his day.

Langley wasn't the last senior officer to log into the conference, but already there was an impressive assemblage present. Generals Khalid and Cortez were exchanging pleasantries and Admiral Kato Hiraga appeared moments later. General Solomon was silent throughout but Langley could tell something was bothering the elderly general. Within the next minute the other theatre commanders appeared and Langley was staring at a total of five faces on his display.

"Gentlemen," Solomon said once they were all connected. "I've called this meeting to inform you of a very disturbing discovery Field Commander McNeil made in North America."

An image popped up on the display, sliding in next to the other open channels. The moment Langley's eyes fell on it, they froze.

"McNeil was working to push back Nod soldiers from our Phoenix Forward Base when he came across a craft unlike anything we've seen before. The thing had crashed and Vega's men had stripped it of most of its technology, but the physical craft was still there. And to be perfectly honest, it's starting to look like the ship might be extraterrestrial."

For what seemed like an eternity, all of the officers present simply stared at Solomon as if they couldn't believe what he had just said. Quite a few were simply staring at the image like Langley and some weren't even aware just how low their jaws had dropped. Finally General Cortez cleared his throat and spoke what was on all their minds.

"Excuse me sir, but are you saying McNeil found an _alien_ ship?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Paul. And no, we haven't found any actual aliens on the ship, but quite frankly Nod had control of the crash site long enough to remove anything they truly wanted. Our scientists are still doing a preliminary analysis and we won't know more until they figure out more of its systems, but it's obvious this thing is incredibly advanced. Hell, it survived a blast strong enough to level a city block!"

"Do we know if there are more of these ships?" Langley asked.

Solomon shook his head. "The analysts are leaning towards no, simply because of how frantic the Brotherhood was to recover this one, but they have nothing to back that hunch. Still, at least now their recent movements in the southwest sector make sense. Most of it was to cover their retrieval operation."

"Fat lot of good it did them," said Cortez. "It led us right to the thing."

"But not soon enough," Hiraga pointed out. "As General Solomon has said, the Brotherhood had already succeeded in stripping this ship of most of its technology. Perhaps a delay was all Nod sought."

"This might also explain those blasted new fighters Nod deployed," General Khukov said. The Russian theatre commander had plenty of experience being ambushed by the things and was painfully aware of just how badly they outclassed his own birds. "Their weaponry and flight performance are considerably superior to anything we have deployed."

Langley nodded. "Though that does suggest Nod has had access to this ship or at least its technology for much longer. Something must have gone wrong for it to crash like that."

"Whatever did happen, at least we have it now," said Cortez. "But this probably means Nod has a few other surprises they're waiting to spring on us."

"Which makes it all the more urgent we seize the initiative," said Langley, "and don't give them any time to deploy any more new toys."

Solomon shook his head. "I wish we could, Will, but we're scrapping the barrel just to maintain our current operations."

"Reserve forces will be ready to deploy within the week," said Cortez. "That's at least eight infantry divisions and four armored."

"Most of which have already been assigned to their respective theatres," Khukov reminded his counterpart. "And I'm going to need those reinforcements just to make up the thrashing O'Connor's been handing our forces here."

While the Russian general was receiving a substantial percentage of the upcoming reserves, not all of them were being assigned there. Langley himself was supposed to receive one infantry division to deploy in Poland and McNeil was being reinforced heavily with an armored and two infantry divisions.

"Another ten divisions are supposed to be ready by the end of the month," said Langley. "If we're serious about a major push against the Brotherhood, we'll need to concentrate them as a single force instead of splitting them all over the world."

Solomon nodded. "I intend to order McNeil to continue his advance. Perhaps he'll be able to flush out the rest of Vega's men. What about you, Kato? Has there been any increased Nod activity in your command?"

"Nothing too out of the ordinary," Hiraga replied. "GDI control of China has always been tenuous outside of a few coastal provinces, but the inland warlords haven't made any moves recently to try seizing our territory."

Langley frowned. "What about the recent provocations between the Indians and Pakistanis?"

"Or the Tibetans and the Chinese," Cortez added. "It's not like that area of the world doesn't have its share of grievances."

Kato nodded in acknowledgment of their points. "Indeed. However, there have not been any overt moves by any of the factions. Our intelligence network has also not detected anything to indicate any imminent disturbances. And unfortunately, unlike North America or Europe, GDI cannot interfere directly with these local issues. While the Indian and Pakistani governments are GDI states, a great deal of power is in the hands of local leaders. Moving against one might trigger a revolt by the rest."

"Which effectively rules out any kind of preemptive strike against known Nod sympathizers or cells," Solomon said, "or at least open ones. For the time being we'll continue committing forces to McNeil's sweep through Mexico, Langley's operations in Europe, and Khukov's defense of Russia. Reinforcements will be deployed as they become available, but don't waste what you've currently got. We're spread too thinly right now and the damn politicians have been just a bit too successful in their efforts to downsize the military."

Annoyance was the most civil expression on the faces of the various officers. It was a delicate balance of power between the officer corps and the civilian administrators within the GDI government. The military had effectively set the agenda when it came to things like foreign policy, but the bureaucrats and politicians were eager to wrest more control away from them. Their excuse was of course the necessity of civilian oversight to ensure the military would not turn on the people it was meant to protect, but many in the military felt the politicians were less suited to protecting against abuses and were simply seeking more power themselves. The last round of this particular battle had seen the politicians succeed in cutting funding for several frontline divisions, resulting in GDI's current strategic handicap. And while Langley himself understood the need for outside oversight, he felt little hesitation in using the current situation to shift the advantage back to the military. As important as that oversight was, the entire argument would be moot if GDI proved unable to defend its citizens because the bureaucrats were too successful in politically castrating the military in its bid for more control.

"General Solomon, if that is the case, perhaps we should transfer divisions from my command to McNeil and divert the reserves to Europe."

Langley glanced over at the screen displaying General Ulysses Ashford. This was the first time the North America theatre commander had spoken during the meeting.

"Can you spare that many troops?" Solomon asked.

Ashford nodded. "I already had forces moving south to support Commander McNeil's operation around Phoenix, but he's moved even faster than I expected. Them joining his current forces would be far faster than handing McNeil a bunch of reservists that still aren't fully up to task. At least in Europe, General Langley will likely have time to squeeze in more drilling before running them through the grinder."

"General Ashford has a point," Langley said. "McNeil's operational tempo would suffer badly if he has to deal with green soldiers, which the reservists are even if they have training. At least over here I have rear guard positions I can slot them into while they finish working up."

"Alright, I'll issue the necessary orders to change the deployment plan," said Solomon. "There is one other development in association with the ship. It seems the Shiners wish to establish a more formal alliance with us."

This time instead of shocked looks, blank stares answered Solomon.

"Excuse me sir," said Langley. "But what does that have to do with the ship?"

"The Shiners apparently were aware of its existence," Solomon said, "or so they claim. One of them was even inside the ship before we were able to find out how to open it and helped dispatch several Nod soldiers sent to destroy it. And it looks like there really is an umbrella organization of mutants worldwide."

Langley nodded slightly. He and several others had suspected that mutants were banding together into a large confederation of sorts. In fact, his informal arrangement with the mutants had proved invaluable in ferreting out Nod sleeper cells in France. If they could tap into this network on a global scale, then it might soon be the Brotherhood's turn to deal with the unpredictability of guerilla warfare.

"If they knew about the ship, why didn't they tell us?" Cortez asked.

"Would we have believed them sir?" Langley pointed out. "I mean, I'm having trouble believing the ship exists even though it's in our hands now."

The general grunted an acknowledgment of the point and several others nodded in agreement.

"Still, the fact that they did know of it speaks highly of their intelligence gathering," said Ashford. "There's much we could learn from them."

"They've already hinted at one thing they know that we want," said Solomon. "Vega's headquarters. They're willing to give us the location for our help breaking out one of their leaders from a cyborg production facility."

"Seems a fair trade," said Langley. "And destroying one of those factories would be a nice bonus."

"Indeed," said Solomon. "Hopefully by the time McNeil gets their leader out, your reinforcements will have arrived, Ulysses. As for you, Will, I know you've been establishing contacts with various mutant groups in Europe. I want you to start working on a formal pipeline into them, either with a permanent liaison or some outpost that can serve as a meeting ground. Someone other officers can tap into."

"Yes sir." How fortunate Langley already had a candidate in mind.

"Now, I want all of you to stay sharp," said Solomon. "It seems the Brotherhood has more secrets than we ever imagined and those secrets might be the key to their victory. They've sprung enough surprises as it is, let's make sure they don't get another chance."

His instructions given, Solomon dismissed the meeting and each of the officers disconnected. As Langley's screens went dark, he considered the general's words. Easier said than done, but GDI badly needed to find some way to overcome the Brotherhood's recent advantages. Still, there were a few new developments in the pipeline that might help offset Nod's new weapons and the situation in Europe was nowhere as bad as it was even a week ago. But the advances were all precarious and it wouldn't take much for the Brotherhood to set him back. The reinforcements would increase his safety margin but if Russia fell and O'Connor actually made a play for Eastern Europe, things could easily degenerate.

Accessing his console, a map of Europe appeared on the main screen. A mixture of gold and red washed over the terrain, indicating areas of control. So far Langley had kept Nod from making any major pushes by constantly hounding them and not allowing them to concentrate. Mitchell's little jaunt through the Ardennes was preventing the Brotherhood from getting a sufficiently powerful force into France to threaten Paris, though Brussels remained uncomfortably exposed. Langley knew there was a major force in that region, but despite Mitchell's best efforts they still didn't know where it was hiding. Until the threat was neutralized he couldn't lessen the pressure. Forting up around Paris and Brussels while superficially appealing would also be conceding the initiative to the Brotherhood, a mistake that GDI would pay long and hard for. But this still left him with the problem of how to plug the hole.

The Ardennes region was one of the few areas where Nod's blasted subterranean network did not extend through, likely because GDI had committed considerable effort to scan for any hint of one there. Consequently, supplies had to be brought over land or air or take a roundabout route through southern France. The first option was feasible for small arms and munitions, but supplies for a mechanized force were too bulky to sneak through in sufficient quantity. Air transport might be possible with helicopters, though again the volume of traffic would have to be very high. So far Langley's forces had seen nothing to indicate Nod had an air convoy set up, though they couldn't rule out the remote possibility of cloaked transports. That left supplies being funneled from southern France and there lay the solution to the problem.

Even with the Brotherhood's impressive stealth capabilities, its forces still had to move about to avoid getting caught by Mitchell's patrols. The foot soldiers would likely have little difficulty, but tanks and other vehicles at least needed fuel. If something broke down, spares would also be needed. And as effective as Nod soldiers were at guerilla warfare, insurgents were not going to seriously damage GDI's military capacity without proper supplies. His arrangement with the Forgotten was already helping cut off the flow of weapons, but most of those successes were from taking out above ground traffickers and agents. That meant fuel was getting through, though Langley still didn't know how.

"Duty officer," Langley said into his comm.

"Yes sir?"

The frown on Langley's face was not one of irritation but surprise as Major Jackson's voice answered.

"Aren't you supposed to be off duty, Major?"

"I was notified of the emergency conference sir," Jackson said.

"I see. Well, as you've rightly surmised, we have more work to do. We'll be receiving three additional divisions for reinforcements. I want to rotate them into rear guard in southern France and transfer IV Corps east."

"Yes sir."

"Also, next time you speak with Rachel, ask her if she might have any suggestions on how to move large amounts of fuel."

"Fuel, sir?"

Langley nodded, though it was more to himself as there was no visual. "They might have some experience with it, and their methods might be similar to how Nod is getting fuel to their Ardennes units. The sooner we can cut that off, the sooner Mitchell can finish his sweep up there."

"Understood sir."

McNeil was not one known for caution, but this mission required a certain amount of finesse. A smash and grab job would likely have gotten the target killed, which explained the previous diversion to destroy the radar grid covering the valley. Unfortunately now all he could do was wait as the mutant infiltrators attempted to extract their leader. A strike force was ready to move in and level the facility, but they could only do so after Tratos was safely evacuated. After that, Vega would finally be made to pay for his crimes.

A beep interrupted McNeil's musing and Chandra opened the channel.

"Package has been recovered, I repeat, package has been recovered," the voice said.

"Alright, that's our cue boys and girls," McNeil said. "6th Company, move in and secure a foothold. MCV will follow."

Acknowledgments rolled across McNeil's console even as he punched in more commands. For this battle he would be stuck on the Kodiak, but at least he had a good vantage point of the battlefield. Minus some inconvenient cloud cover, he even had a decent outline of the Nod bases, though that outline did not include details of the defenses.

"Sir, MCV is unpacked and refinery will be up within the hour. Barracks are already deploying."

McNeil nodded. "ETA to war factory unpacking?"

"Two hours, sir."

A remarkable piece of technology, the war factory was essentially a completely automated final assembly plant. Components for the various vehicles were all prepackaged and each war factory came with enough parts to put together a mechanized company before needing resupply. Of course, all this automation required significant amounts of power, which required setting up several power plants before a war factory could be deployed.

Despite the strategic flexibility offered by the MCV and the war factory, there were several tactical shortcomings. The biggest was until that mechanized company was fully deployed, the base was very vulnerable. It was for this and several other reasons that McNeil never relied purely on the force a MCV could unpack and the eight Titans lumbering into the base would hopefully be enough to repel any attacks in the short term. That hope was soon put to the test as red dots appeared on the Kodiak's main display.

The Nod assault cycle was a surprisingly effective raider for what started as an improvised missile launching platform. Its speed and maneuverability allowed it to move faster than the upper bodies of a Titan could traverse and used well its missiles could topple the bulky walkers. The typical response of GDI commanders tended to be throwing even more Titans at the speedy bikes, but McNeil was anything but typical. And while the top speed of a Wolverine was nowhere what an assault cycle could achieve, its arms were still fast enough to track the incoming bikes.

The red dots dropped off one by one even as damage reports flooded in from the Wolverines. Zooming in, McNeil watched white streaks erupt from the assault cycles while bright yellow flashes blinked from every chaingun burst. The visual wasn't perfect but it didn't need to be for McNeil to watch all the Nod bikes spiraling out of control with every hit. The Wolverines were not coming out unscathed as several missiles hit, but none of the life monitors were reporting a fatality just yet. Still, he wasted little time recalling those units that registered heavy damage. Until the war factory was up, they would be out of the fight.

"Defense turrets are deploying, sir," Chandra reported.

McNeil nodded. He would need all of his mobile units for the push against the Nod base, so the less they got mauled in repelling Nod attacks, the better.

"Sir, it looks like Nod forces are withdrawing from their southern base," Brink said. "I'm seeing a steady flow of personnel and vehicles leaving."

"Shift to main display."

Brink obeyed and punched up the image. As she had reported, Nod units were hastily making a retreat from the cyborg production facility the mutants had just rescued Tratos from. Even before the last soldier was outside the perimeter, explosions began blossoming amongst the buildings and ripped them apart. In less than a minute the entire base was in tatters and a few unlucky stragglers found themselves engulfed in the flames. Twisted wrecks teetered before collapsing under their own weight, leaving blasted ruins and burning skeletons of steal.

From his vantage point the explosion was barely visible, but the force of it had toppled the few trees still standing in the area and blasted a small crater into the earth. Most of the Nod soldiers had managed to pull out in time so they still had a major battle ahead, but now the Brotherhood was concentrated in one location instead of two.

"Well, at least that's one less base to worry about," McNeil muttered. "Status on unpacking?"

"War factory is almost up," Chandra reported. "That last attack provided some extra, motivation for the engineers."

"Looks like the Brotherhood's good for something after all."

"Sir, the rest of 6th Company has arrived."

"Excellent. Form up and start moving west."

Thirty Titans would have been more than enough to flatten the cyborg production facility, but McNeil knew nothing about the composition of the northern base's defenses. Walking in blind wasn't something he liked, but he needed more intel. To that end, the three Wolverines that had protected the extraction point were also advancing northwest and hopefully would see something useful while the Titans distracted Nod forces.

Video and sensor data was streamed continuously to the Kodiak by the various units and EVA continued collating them. The theater map expanded with every new data point and McNeil soon had a fairly clear picture of the surrounding terrain.

"Stragglers sighted, sir," one of the Wolverine pilots reported. "Shall we take them?"

"Negative," McNeil ordered. "Hang back but continue following them. I want to see if there's a back door to this Nod base."

"Yes sir."

As the Wolverines continued their reconnaissance the Titan company also had their own encounters. Another Nod force had been advancing east and suddenly found themselves under heavy fire by the walkers. The skirmish lasted less than a minute as the Titans tore through the buggies and bikes, wiping out the Nod patrol. Once atop the hill, it became apparent what the patrol had been protecting.

"We've got three harvesters here sir," the company commander reported. "They're pulling back, but they seem to have a full load with how slowly they're moving."

"Take them out," McNeil ordered.

"With pleasure, sir."

With their height advantage, the Titans were well within range to hit the fleeing harvesters. And heavily armored as they were, these massive trucks were not designed to withstand hits by dozens of anti-armor shells. Add a full load of Tiberium to the mix and the end result was a trio of massive fireballs rising into the sky and green crystals smashing into the ground. The loss of the harvesters while not immediately crippling would at least limit the munitions and equipment the Nod base could manufacture itself. And due to Nod power plants relying on Tiberium as a fuel source, it might even force some of the defenses offline. Anything that helped shorten this battle McNeil would gladly welcome.

"Sir, our southern scouts have found the Nod base," Brink said.

Switching his view, McNeil studied the images being transmitted. Surprisingly, the Nod base was protected by a perimeter of laser fences that were further protected by concrete walls. Laser turrets dotted the perimeter but the real threat was the Obelisk of Light at the eastern most point.

"War factory status?"

"Unpacked and already assembling the first couple units," Chandra replied. "We can get another company ready in two hours."

"Have our engineers repair that bridge leading south," McNeil ordered. "No good knowing about a backdoor if we can't even reach it."

"Yes sir."

Sitting back, McNeil now had to wait as his men went to work. A single company of Titans might just be able to breach the Nod base, but at a very heavy cost. The feed from the scouts showed plenty of tanks, so it wasn't just the static base defenses McNeil needed to worry about. But if he could get another company to hit Nod forces from the south, where their defenses were considerably weaker, he might be able to do enough damage to take that Obelisk offline. Once that happened, 6th Company could move in for a pincer maneuver and the two companies could crush the Nod forces between them. Of course, that assumed everything worked as planned, and Murphy was as present on the battlefield as it was in every other aspect of life.

"Sir, we're under attack!"

"Pull back now," McNeil ordered, watching as Nod buggies and even a few bikes slash towards his Wolverine scouts. "Get your men back to base!"

The three beleaguered walkers tried to obey, firing wildly even as they tried to flee. The first few buggies to reach them did little damage and more often than not ended as burning wrecks. The cycles were another matter and this time outnumbered the Wolverines. They zigzagged about, forcing the Wolverines to split their attention. The distraction proved to be fatal as missiles poured into the ranks and blasted the Wolverines to pieces. The feed cut out and three gold dots disappeared from the map. The red dots that surrounded them continued pushing east, likely seeking to press their advantage and make another run at McNeil's base.

"Status on the second company," McNeil.

"Twelve titans are online now," Brink reported. "Base defenses have been extended to cover the southwest bridge."

"Get the titans moving now," McNeil ordered. "We don't have time to wait anymore. Deploy the remaining wolverines with them as escorts."

"Yes sir."

Within minutes a force of twenty walkers lumbered across the bridge, a mix of tall and short machines of war. The Nod force of buggies and bikes met them not long after, but this time it was they that were outnumbered. The GDI units focused their efforts, picking off only a single unit at a time. Needing only a single round to permanently remove the Nod units, the skirmish barely slowed the GDI advance.

"Sir, 9th Company reports that they are in position."

"Titans advance, wolverines, watch their flanks."

Obeying, the titan walkers stepped forth and opened fire well outside the range of the laser turrets and blew them to pieces. The lone tick tank burrowed into the ground was another matter, but when outnumbered so badly all it managed was a single stray shot before suffering the same fate. Next to come crashing down was the perimeter wall as fires blossomed from the titans' turret. Chunks of concrete crumbled or sizzled as they fell into the path of the laser fences. But the titans did not need to breech the walls to start shelling the base, as the Brotherhood had yet to erect walls taller than the gun mounted on the walkers. A surprising oversight and one they were now paying heavily for. The titans rained death and destruction on the structures along the base perimeter, wrecking the poorly placed power plants. The consequences went from bad to worse as the obelisk darkened and the laser fences cut out, the signal for 6th Company to begin its assault.

Nod forces were already reacting but the units that first reached 9th Company also were the most lightly armored. The wolverines chewed through them with little effort and suffered only minor fire in return. That situation soon changed as tick tanks finally reached the southern perimeter and began deploying. However, in attempting to increase their own survivability, the tank commanders had exposed their units to a window of vulnerability. The titans took note of the incoming tanks and quickly shifted focus. Taking aim, they placed their shots at the weak neck connecting the turrets to the body of the tank, momentarily exposed as the tanks dug in. More than a handful of tanks met their ends before they could fully deploy, though those that did were now much tougher targets to remove and soon began exchanging fire with the walkers.

Even as Nod forces moved to stem the GDI incursion along their southern perimeter, 6th Company was busy blowing a path along the eastern gates. While the laser turrets were still online, none survived to open fire as the first volley removed them from consideration. The gates, lowered to let Nod forces out to counter the attack, were now letting the titans into the base after the walkers had literally stomped over the Nod response. Like their southern counterparts, 6th Company immediately set to work dismantling the power plants closest to them to ensure the obelisk stayed offline. However, a significant portion of the Nod garrison was still near the eastern entrance and resisting fiercely against the GDI attack. Missiles and rounds slammed into the lead titans, crippling one while blowing apart another. Then to the surprise of the walkers a familiar hum began sounding before a beam of red light struck another of their comrades. The laser melted clean through the titan's armor and sent the walker toppling. Another hum produced a similar though more spectacular result as the second walker's ammo and fuel ignited from the heat.

Thoroughly engaged against the base's defenses and defenders, the titans could not withdraw without taking severe casualties in the process and continued fighting on. However, the distraction offered by the obelisk had allowed the surviving tick tanks to finish digging in and they formed a solid wall against further advances into the Nod base.

Before a forth hum could finish, the obelisk sputtered and suddenly went dark again. Rounds suddenly smashed into the tick tanks from behind as 9th Company made its entrance, having overcome all resistance south. Trapped between two forces of titans, the tick tanks fought to the last unit but were grossly outnumbered now. The few infantry and light units amongst the defenders were quickly cut down by the surviving wolverines or a well placed tank round if a titan deigned to pay it any attention. With their defenses broken, Nod soldiers began throwing down their arms and raising hands and a quiet settled onto the battlefield. By the time the Kodiak landed to transfer Tratos over to its medical bay, the base was firmly in GDI hands. McNeil didn't know what they would dig up once the analysts had a crack at the computers and files, but considering this was a cyborg production facility, it wasn't likely to be pleasant. Still, a victory was a victory, and they were one step closer to taking down the bastard Vega.

End of Chapter 10

You know, this chapter's been done for about a year now. I just never posted it because of a really stupid reason. The scene with Umagon required I review the conversation that took place in the mission briefing but I never got around to it. Anyway, that's dealt with now and here you go. One will notice that most of this chapter covers missions that the player has played before, so there's not that much new per se. I've also been selectively dropping missions since rehashing the entire GDI campaign would get rather boring. We'll see how the rest develops.

My hiatus was mostly due to schoolwork, but I was for a time dealing with massive writer's block on how to proceed with the rest of the story. C&C4 did squat to lift that block cause quite frankly, the main canon is just bloody mangled at this point and I'm not really going to adhere to it very well, at least for anything post Tiberian Sun. If I do a continuation of Point of a Spear, it'll draw inspiration from C&C3 and 4, but the truth behind Kane will be one of my devising, not that completely random, thing, that happened in C&C4. By the way, Point of a Spear is intended to finish at the end of Firestorm. I think I can get that far. I owe it to my readers to at least try.

I go through moods wherein I feel more inclined to write a specific genre, such as fantasy, scifi, or military fiction. I was mostly in a fantasy/scifi mood for the past year and have been putting together a Diablo and Starcraft fic. We'll see if those ever see the light of day, though the Diablo fic is developed enough that I think I can reasonably finish it. Unfortunately it's veering to the long side with about 40,000 words and counting. Most tradeback novels tend to be around 80,000, and I am most definitely not halfway through the story in my Diablo work. But we'll see.

Z98


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Fall

_Do your duty in all things._

_You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less._

_Robert E. Lee_

Slavik looked at the display, his scowl fierce as ever as CABAL described the defenses surrounding Hammerfest. The base was home to one of GDI's premier weapons R&D facilities and it wasn't surprising the bastards had fortified it so heavily. However, all that firepower paled in comparison to the Firestorm defense system surrounding the base.

"I've uploaded the analysis my staff has produced on Hammerfest and its defenses," O'Connor said on the screen.

"The technology is perfect," CABAL stated coolly. "There are no weaknesses."

"Nothing is perfect," Slavik countered.

"CABAL is right in the sense that the technology is conceptually perfect," O'Connor said, half correcting and half acknowledging the AI's conclusions. "Nothing can penetrate a Firestorm wall when it is active. But that there is the rub."

"General O'Connor is correct," the AI continued, though it sounded almost reluctant to make that admission. "The Firestorm system requires tremendous amounts of power. Disrupting that supply of power should deactivate those defenses."

"I would not advise that," O'Connor said. "Dropping the power on Hammerfest is going to attract the attention of every GDI unit within a hundred kilometers, at which point your forces will be found and run over by sheer numbers if nothing else. You'd never get all your forces through the perimeter in time after dropping the power."

"Do you have another suggestion, general?" Slavik asked.

Tapping his console, O'Connor brought up an image of a Firestorm wall section. "These emitters become extremely hot due to the amount of current flowing through them. Due to the cold weather, Hammerfest is one of the few GDI bases that can keep them running nearly indefinitely. But nearly is not the same as indefinite."

Slavik nodded in understanding. "When they drop the emitters, we can move right in."

"But we have no idea when the next time that will be," Oxanna said, not convinced.

"How fortunate your commander had the wisdom to consult me when he encountered this problem," O'Connor said, a feral grin crossing his lips. He tapped his console again and a set of dates and times slid over the Montauk's main display. "The timetable for Hammerfest's Firestorm cooldowns."

Oxanna's eyes grew wide and even Slavik felt a tingle of surprise. "May I ask how you acquired this?"

"Hammerfest's value is not the base itself, but the research conducted there. Any overt attack on it risks the destruction of that research, so I had my staff draft plans that would allow us to seize the base with the data intact. This little tidbit is a result of their work."

"That doesn't exactly answer the question," Slavik noted.

"No, it doesn't," O'Connor said, grinning again. "Suffice it to say, it was an inside job, and one that will only work once, so I'm prepared to let you have it if you do two things for me."

Looking over at the data, Slavik noted that the only future cooldown time on the list was a mere hour from now. That was too soon to get his forces positioned. The good general was as thorough as ever.

"And what would that be?"

"Get me a complete copy of Hammerfest's data banks. And get me Jake McNeil, dead or alive."

The first request Slavik had been expecting. The second left him feeling confused once more.

"Jake McNeil?"

"He's a lieutenant stationed at Hammerfest. You may have heard of his older brother, Michael McNeil. He is GDI's lead field commander and the one that recovered the ship Vega managed to crash. The McNeil brothers have a longer history with Nod than most people realize and I would like to have his brother or at least his corpse in my custody."

The last comment implied a medical or scientific reason for the request, though Slavik did not particularly care. The younger McNeil would have likely ended up as a casualty of his operation anyway. That Slavik was to ship out his body was merely a footnote to the man's eventual execution, if he was lucky. If not, then Jake McNeil was likely to get a firsthand experience of Nod's progress in Divination.

"I'll see what I can do," Slavik finally said.

O'Connor tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Good hunting."

The feed terminated and the console blinked. Accessing it, Oxanna nodded to Slavik.

"The general has transmitted us an up to date timetable."

"Display," Slavik instructed.

"Rather remarkable the assets General O'Connor has kept from the rest of the Brotherhood," Oxanna noted.

"Compartmentalization of intelligence should be something you are quite familiar with, lieutenant," Slavik chided. "After all, it's the second rule of the intelligence business."

"Of course, sir."

Even as he spoke, Slavik's eyes scanned the times. There were three cooldowns scheduled for the next 48 hours, all spread out along the Firestorm perimeter.

"CABAL, how many sets of the chameleon suit do we have on hand?" Slavik asked.

"Two."

"The damage two infiltrators could achieve would be minimal."

"True, but we do not necessarily need them to inflict any actual damage or destruction. CABAL, display recon photos of Firestorm post six."

The image of three GDI soldiers lounging around appeared.

"Sloppy, but to our advantage," Slavik commented. "These men believe themselves to be safe while the wall section is active. After the cooldown is completed, they will be even more lax because nothing will appear to have happened. That is when we shall take them. With no one to confirm either way, it would not be difficult for them to deactivate that section of the Firestorm wall and let in a much larger stealth force."

"And perhaps find a place for our subterranean units to surface?" Oxanna suggested.

"Indeed."

With a plan, the wheels were set in motion. Over a dozen stealth tanks rolled out, two very important passengers riding along. Slavik would have loved to sneak a larger force closer to the base, but there were limits to the assets available for this mission. It was ironic that a full frontal assault would have afforded him more tactical deployment options, but O'Connor was right. Hammerfest's value lay in its research. Success would require a more delicate touch.

"Our stealth units are in position," Oxanna reported nearly two hours later. "Subterranean units are also standing by."

"Excellent. The Firestorm section should be deactivating momentarily. Our agents are not to remove the GDI guards until they can take all of them at once and only after their scheduled check-in."

"Understood."

"CABAL, once our agents plug you into GDI's local grid, I want a feed of the base's interior."

"As you command."

"Firestorm wall section down," Oxanna reported. "Our agents have crossed over. Firestorm wall section has reactivated."

Slavik nodded. The margin had been under a minute, but they had succeeded. Now they just needed the next phase to go as smoothly. A beep soon sounded, indicating just that.

"GDI sentries removed. Our agents are interfacing with the local controls."

"Dropping Firestorm defenses," CABAL reported. "Overriding GDI sensors. Hammerfest command will continue to believe the sections are still online."

"Excellent. Roll in the tanks."

"Establishing video feed of Hammerfest base," CABAL continued.

The images fed to them by the security cameras revealed much, including a very major oversight by GDI forces, Slavik noted.

"The base appears to not be completely paved over," he said.

"A surprising mistake considering Hammerfest's reputation," Oxanna commented.

"But one we were unaware of because no one has been able to get close," said Slavik. "Though I must wonder whether General O'Connor had any idea of this."

"And decided not to share with us?"

Slavik shrugged. "It changes little. We would still needed to have moved in the stealth tanks before trying to penetrate the base. CABAL, are there any sensor arrays deployed?"

"Three," CABAL reported. "Shall I interfere with their telemetry?"

"Of course. It would be problematic if they saw us coming before we were already on top of them."

"Complying."

"Devil's Tongues are to surface here, here, and here," Slavik ordered. "Assault and engineering teams will follow. First priority is the radar station, second are the power plants. The radar station must be taken intact. Secure as many power plants intact as possible, but they are expendable if the need arises."

As the Nod units moved in, Slavik continued watching the hijacked feed. As the Devil's Tongues burst forth, GDI soldiers scrambled to meet the threat but were quickly incinerated. Fanning out, the flame tanks secured the initial foothold as subterranean APCs surfaced. Soldiers piled out and began storming the buildings, not giving GDI any time to recover.

"Sir, we've knocked out power to the defenses!" a report came in.

"Stealth tanks, move in and distract the walkers," Slavik ordered.

While the Devil's Tongues were more than a match for the soldiers stationed around the base, GDI's armored walkers would chew through their light armor in no time. Already a Titan was blasting through a flame tank and looking for a new target. But the stealth tanks were not Slavik's only answer to armor as rockets slammed into the lone Titan. More GDI armor was converging on the base but it was too late as they suddenly found stealth tanks unloading salvos behind them. Flaming wrecks toppled over as the stealth tanks disappeared from view again.

"So much for an impregnable fortress," Slavik said, grinning.

"I have full control of Hammerfest's systems," CABAL reported.

"The sonic crystals?"

"They are being stored in the secure research vault inside the inner Firestorm perimeter," CABAL said. "GDI's researchers have been, incapacitated for the time being."

"Still alive, I hope? They may turn out to be quite useful once we convince them to serve the Brotherhood."

"As you wish," CABAL said.

"Any sign of this Lieutenant McNeil the general is interested in?" Slavik asked.

"Not yet," Oxanna said. "Once we get more bodies on the ground we can conduct a more thorough search. Right now GDI forces are still trying to delay the inevitable."

"Courageous of them," Slavik noted. "But futile. What's the ETA on the main force?"

"Another six minutes or so," the lieutenant replied.

"Establish a secondary base southwest of Hammerfest's main base," Slavik ordered.

"Outside the perimeter?" Oxanna asked.

Slavik nodded. "If GDI attempts to retake the base, they must also find a way to circumvent the defenses now that we have taken them intact. Best to intercept them outside the perimeter and not have to drop the defenses to meet them."

"But what value is there in holding the base?" Oxanna asked. "Once we copy their research data and take the crystals, why not just level it?"

"Two reasons. First, holding this location will stall GDI, and the stronger our defensive position is, the longer they will take before they can pursue us. Second, possessing a working Firestorm system will allow us a chance to examine the technology up close. That should prove useful if we ever need to defeat the system again."

Oxanna found that she agreed with Slavik and simply nodded, focusing her attention back on the battlefield. Of course, with most of the GDI defenders killed or surrendering, the scene was relatively calm. Somehow the Black Hand lieutenant doubted GDI's response would be anywhere as subdued.

Through his binoculars, Lieutenant Ramsey could see the outlines of a few sentries meandering around the bridge. The wreckage of a single wolverine lay smoldering close to the bridge entrance, victim to an artillery battery somewhere out of sight. The presence of artillery was forcing a rethink of the whole operation. Though the titan company could easily roll over the soldiers protecting the crossing, there was nothing stopping Nod forces from wrecking the bridge while they tried to cross.

Another pair of wolverines was pressing south, both to investigate the source of Nod attacks and to see if there were any suitable beaches for deploying an amphibious assault on Vega's island. Frequent as the probes were, they were mostly composed of infantry so shouldn't pose any problems for the light walkers.

"Sir, Nod outpost sighted," a voice said over the crackling radio. "It's lightly defended but they have the bridge covered with laser turrets."

"Acknowledged," McNeil replied. "Lieutenant Ramsey."

"Yes sir," Ramsey quickly said.

"Take two platoons south. You should have the range to knock out the turrets without getting hit back. Avoid destroying the bridge, I want it intact."

"Sir."

Dropping into his unit, Ramsey nodded to his pilot and the titan rose along with seven others. In an effort to conserve space, the titan only had room for two crew, which resulted in the commander also serving as the gunner. Even with the autoloader, the arrangement was hardly ideal and having to handle the actual shooting unnecessarily split the commander's attention. Ramsey had heard rumors of a new mark II design that remedied this problem and as far as he was concerned it couldn't arrive fast enough. For now, he had to make do with the tools he had and get as many of his men out alive as possible.

The wolverine scouts met up with them quickly and fell into an escort formation. The advance did not go unnoticed as a few buggies appeared on the display. However, they remained wary of approaching so much firepower and simply shadowed the force from a safe distance.

"Keep an eye out for bikes," Ramsey said.

Acknowledgments came quickly and Ramsey followed his own advice as he scanned the terrain, rotating the titan's upper scope left and right. Surprisingly nothing appeared to harass them even when they came into sight of the bridge.

"Ramsey," McNeil began. "We've got incoming air support. Let the orcas pick off the turrets and then haul ass over the bridge. I don't want them to get a chance to blow it."

"Yes sir."

Plans rarely survived intact during an engagement. This time it hadn't even lasted long enough to start the battle. Still, Ramsey wasn't about to complain about getting some help. While they waited, he fired off new orders of his own and the wolverines peeled away. The upper modules on the titans all rotated and each let loose a single round, all directed at the following buggies. None actually hit and only one actually managed to land anywhere close, but it was enough to disperse their stalkers, if only momentarily. Whether they regrouped Ramsey couldn't tell as the buggies were no longer within visual range.

"Sir, the orcas are executing their attack run," the driver reported.

"Alright, let's get moving as well."

The roar of engines was considerably diminished inside the titan though Ramsey could still make out a general direction for the source. The explosions that followed were equally muffled but he didn't need to hear them to know the laser turrets had just been blasted into smithereens.

"Wolverines, form ranks and advance!"

Falling into a line, the wolverines marched forward and poured lead down the bridge. The kill zone they created precluded any counterattack by infantry, but that did not stop Nod forces from mounting a response. Cyborgs lumbered forward and returned fire, even if their chainguns could not match the wolverines. However, as the GDI walkers shifted their fire to concentrate at the hulking monstrosities, Nod soldiers popped out and let off RPGs and missiles aplenty. The explosives were still not enough to outright stop the advance but the distractions were slowing them down.

A roar and the titans joined the fray, their guns trained squarely on the cyborgs. Despite their heavy armor, not even they could survive continuous pounding by AP rounds. The first cyborg to go down went flying back instead of merely crumbling thanks to a simultaneous chance hit by two titans. The second lost its head due to another demonstration of superb gunnery and the others were finally forced back by the sheer volume of fire now that the wolverines were coordinating their fire once more.

The red light that accompanied the beep pulled Ramsey's attention from their advance and he cursed. With all his forces focused on crossing the bridge, the buggies had regrouped and were now barreling towards them. They couldn't hope to do any serious damage with just their machineguns, but at the speed they were driving Ramsey doubted it was to take potshots.

"Keep moving!" Ramsey shouted into the radio and the GDI units rushed to obey.

Swerving his own unit around, Ramsey took aim and blasted the wheel off an incoming buggy. The others veered away but continued racing forward, now letting loose with their own guns, trying to do anything to split the attention of the GDI attack. Another died before reaching the bridge but the others were quickly zipping across. Even so, Ramsey's own units were already on the other side and the wolverines were turning around to deal with this new threat. Using the titans was too risky as a misplaced shot might seriously undermine the bridge's integrity. After all, McNeil had ordered it taken intact and Ramsey had no intention of disappointing.

The Nod defenders inside the base continued running about but at this close a range even a titan could effectively take on infantry. Near misses by HE rounds were more than enough to kill someone, even if they were using up a lot of them in the process. An explosion behind marked the only success of the Nod buggies and Ramsey grimaced at the sight. One had managed to actually get across the bridge only to hurl itself into the closest wolverine. The walker had topped over and one of its legs had snapped clear off, but otherwise it was intact and the operator alive. However, if they were going to evac him they needed to clear out the rest of the defenders.

"Ramsey, hang tight, help is on the way," McNeil said.

"Hanging sir, and the sooner the better!"

Even before the words left his mouth another roar filled the air. Dropping suddenly, the orcas literally bounced in the air as they leveled out and let loose with their chainguns, carving the Nod defenders into bloody pulps. Those lucky enough to duck in time stayed down or suffered the same fate as the orcas continued hunting for targets. The next time any stood it was with weapons thrown aside and arms thrown up.

"Enemy units are surrendering sir," Ramsey reported.

"More backup incoming," McNeil said. "Let them handle the prisoners. For now keep an eye on them and don't let them blow any of the structures."

"Sir."

Reinforcements were not long in coming. The APCs quickly offloaded and engineer teams went to work taking control of the various buildings. Others kept an eye on the surviving Nod defenders even as more units rolled into the base. Once he made sure the wolverine operator had been evacuated, Ramsey found himself on the march once more north. They would have to take that bridge sooner or later, regardless of artillery, and Ramsey needed to be in position to make the push.

"Someone, kill me, now."

"How the hell did you make it out of basic, Harrison?" Lawrence said to the soldier strapped in next to him.

The soldier didn't respond, instead leaning back in an attempt to keep from throwing up inside his helmet. The three APCs rolling with the waves were fully loaded and awaiting permission to make landfall. The orders for the units aboard were simple, find any SAM sites they could and blow them up. The mission was not one Lawrence considered to have a high survival rate, but someone had to do it and the 22nd light infantry platoon were some of the best at such raids. Even if they got pinned down and wiped out, Nod forces were likely to pay a very heavy price for their victory.

"This is McNeil. Commence landing. Good luck and godspeed."

"Alright, you heard the commander," the lieutenant said. "Get your gear ready to hit the ground running. Who knows what patrols Vega has on his island, but I want us on the move immediately."

"Sir!"

A bump signaled the APCs landing and the front ramp slammed down seconds later. The soldiers poured out onto the beach which was mercifully deserted. Lawrence and the other light infantry formed up in front of the disk throwers. With two APCs dedicated to getting them onto the island, hopefully there was enough firepower to hold off anything Vega could throw at them. Moving off the beach, the assault force ran into a SAM site almost immediately. The disk throwers didn't even need to be told to topple it.

"Move east," Lieutenant Jarvis ordered.

Obeying, the soldiers carefully advanced deeper into the island. Patrols were not long in coming and gunfire erupted.

"Cyborgs! Grenadiers, front and center!"

As the infantry fanned out, the disk throwers stepped forward and unleashed a volley at the hulking monstrosities. The explosives quickly reduced the cyborgs into scrap while even catching a few regular infantry. However, the enemy soldiers did not die alone and two soldiers next to Lawrence went down hard. A quick check confirmed their loss but there was no time to mourn. The soldiers took off, not waiting for more Nod soldiers to find and engage them. Another SAM site was quickly rubble and the assault team was about to hit a third when an explosion knocked Lawrence off his feet. He bounced but managed to scramble to cover as another blast cratered the ground.

"Tanks!"

Lawrence couldn't make out who had shouted but it hardly mattered. Disk throwers were already unloading but the frontal armor of the tanks laughed off their efforts. Lawrence paid the tanks little heed short of trying to avoid its attention. It would be up to the disk throwers to get them out of this alive, but they needed to give the tanks their full attention to do so. Taking aim, Lawrence picked off two Nod soldiers trying to advance on them. His fellow riflemen joined him even as more cannon rounds landed amongst their positions. Screams from both sides sounded but soon an explosion blossomed amongst the Nod lines as flames engulfed a tick tank.

"Keep the pressure on!" Jarvis shouted. "Lawrence, Harrison, flank left and pin down those soldiers!"

"Sir!"

Harrison was the only one who verbally responded as Lawrence obeyed through action. Running over, he sprayed the incoming soldiers and managed to clip one in the arm. The others ducked and returned fire but Lawrence was already behind cover. Harrison opened fire next, catching Lawrence's attackers in the open. Another went down and the pair continued alternating fire.

"Miss the boat ride yet?" Lawrence joked.

"What's there to miss?" Harrison replied. "Shooting up Nod fanatics is much more fun!"

An explosion cut off Lawrence's response, at least momentarily.

"Fun, you say!"

Another tick tank exploded and Lawrence rolled over to get a better shot. As he did so, a shadow loomed over and the GDI infantryman suddenly found himself next to another tank.

"Oh shit."

"Lawrence!"

The machinegun swung down and Lawrence froze, almost as if he was waiting for the bullets to riddle his body. Instead, the gun snapped and sparked before drooping over.

"Move!"

The scream snapped Lawrence out of his daze and the soldier pulled out a grenade. Pin pulled, he quickly tossed it against the turret of the tick tank and doze for cover. The explosion seemed to do little, but the vehicle ground to a halt and the crew started bailing. They did not get far as Lawrence and Harrison opened fire, cutting down the retreating operators.

Looking around, Lawrence caught sight of five burning wrecks and countless bodies strewn across the battlefield. Most wore the red and black of the Brotherhood, but a good number were in the golden brown camo of GDI.

"Lieutenant!" Lawrence shouted.

"Javier's dead," one of the disk throwers shouted back. "So's the sergeant."

"Damn. Alright, all units, rally on me! Check for wounded as you go but we need to move it, now!"

The soldiers obeyed and as Lawrence counted the survivors a grimace formed. Out of the forty some soldiers that had landed, only twenty-eight were still standing on their own. Seven others were still alive, but a few looked to be in bad shape. They could not stop however kept pushing northwest. Another SAM site fell on their march but Lawrence did not know how much longer they could keep this up. If Vega sent another force to flush out his unit, they would likely not survive the encounter.

"Sir, harvester sighted ahead! Looks like it's moving towards a Tib field!"

Even with all the remaining disk throwers working together, Lawrence knew they could not hope to take out the heavily armored harvester. But perhaps they did not have to.

"Grenadiers! Move up! Take out that thing's tracks."

The ten surviving disk throwers obeyed, lobbing explosives at the vehicle. Wheels and tracks shattered, leaving the massive truck stuck in the dirt. The driver immediately bailed and threw up his hands. Fortunately for him, Lawrence and his men were feeling merciful.

"Alright, bunker down around the harvester," Lawrence ordered. "We'll hold out here until reinforcements arrive."

Just as soldiers moved to obey, more shouting filled the air. Looking over, Lawrence cursed as the horde of Nod soldiers swept towards their position. A pair of buggies led the charge and would be on top of them in no time.

"Move, move!" Lawrence screamed.

Even as they did so, the soldiers formed a screen as others carried the wounded. Lawrence followed his own advice and ran even as he opened fire. If they could get behind the harvester they would at least have a strongpoint to try holding. Out in the open, they would be cut to pieces.

A sharp pain ripped through Lawrence's leg and he toppled over. Pushing himself up, he continued firing. Another GDI soldier fell not too far from him and stayed down. Suddenly someone grabbed Lawrence's shoulder and hauled him off the ground.

"Keep shooting!" Harrison shouted as he dragged his friend along.

Lawrence needed little urging and did his best to aim. Most of the survivors were at the harvester and luckily the two reached the others without getting any more holes. The buggies were mercifully wrecks already but their numbers were whittled down to just twelve now. But Lawrence did not let the losses daze him. Locking in a new clip, he opened fire again, determined to delay his demise as long as possible. The roar of guns and explosions filled his ears as his comrades followed suit and drowned out every other thought. It was thus quite the surprise when missiles suddenly smashed into the ranks of the advancing Nod soldiers.

A loud screech sounded as suddenly a trio of Orcas dropped hard before braking in the air just above the ground. Each one let loose with their chainguns and unleashed a torrent of lead. More Orcas streaked through the sky even as missiles rose up to greet them, but none found their mark. The Orcas returned fire and their own missiles smashed into the remaining SAM emplacements. Then to Lawrence's surprise, a squadron of Orca carryalls roared toward his position. Soon after, a dozen wolverine and titan walkers were on the ground and advancing towards Vega's base. But the most remarkable site was the massive Orca Command Carrier that descended from the sky, guns roaring. The howitzer under its belly let loose, smashing the laser turrets and blowing holes in the walls. By the time the walkers reached the base perimeter, there was little to stand in their way.

Collapsing, Lawrence felt the adrenaline slowly fade. Looking down at his leg, he finally noticed just how much blood had escaped. He quickly pulled out his medpac and tied the wound. It would have to hold until he could get to a field hospital or the like.

"Hey, you okay?"

Looking up, Lawrence saw Harrison leaning over.

"Yeah. I think so."

Grinning, Harrison reached out. "Still wondering how I got through basic?"

Chuckling, Lawrence nodded and took Harrison's hand. "Yeah. Cause you still haven't shown anything I would care to call skills. Not when we were kids, and sure as hell not now."

As McNeil entered the chamber, his attention was solely on the man seated before the massive screen, not whatever was being displayed on it. Stomping over, the GDI commander considered the very painful ways he might employ to get Vega to talk. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on one's perspective, the politicos got rather squeamish at such methods so McNeil decided to settle for beating Vega into the ground before 'accepting' his surrender. However, before he even reached Vega, it became apparent Vega would not last long enough to do any surrendering. Cursing, McNeil grabbed hold of the Nod general and pulled him up.

"Alright you sorry bastard," McNeil spat. "Before that crap fries your brain you're gonna tell me what happened to the rest of that ship. What happened to the technology that you and Kane stole off that UFO!"

Vega snorted, his eyes fluttering as the eyecandy shot through his system. Still, he remained lucid enough to respond to McNeil's shaking.

"Kane didn't steal it. He made it." A wheeze escaped Vega before he continued. "He's got the Tacitus."

"What does Kane have!" McNeil pressed. "What is the Tacitus!"

Unfortunately Vega was too far gone and merely slumped over. Tossing the man back in disgust, McNeil glanced over at as Chandra stepped up to his side.

"Sir, I have some very bad news."

Following Chandra's gaze, McNeil finally took note of the countdown on the large screen. Another second passed before he reacted, quickly bolting out the room right behind Chandra.

"All units, pull out, I repeat, pull out now! Transports, get our people off the ground! There's some kind of self destruct counting down!"

Another minute passed before they exited the pyramid and McNeil watched as carryalls clamped onto walkers before lifting off. APCs were also racing away and the moment the door locked behind McNeil the Kodiak began lifting off.

"Sir, we're detecting an incoming missile!" Binks reported over the intercom as McNeil marched up to the bridge.

"A missile? Where from?"

"Space Command is tracing, but sir, from its height and speed, it's looking like an ICBM."

"What?" McNeil exclaimed just as he reached the bridge. "Is it a nuke?"

"We're about to find out," Chandra said as he assumed his post. "Missile landing in twelve seconds!"

McNeil didn't need a countdown as he watched the display. The projectile raced towards Vega's pyramid and moments later smashed into it, igniting into a massive ball of fire. The Kodiak shook from the shockwave but the cruiser quickly escaped the blast zone. Behind them, a black mushroom cloud floated in the air, blotting out the sky.

"Did we lose anyone?"

"Two titans and a wolverine didn't make it in time," Binks reported. "There just weren't enough carryalls to lift everyone out in one go."

Slamming his fist against the armrest, McNeil silently cursed. If only they had seen the missile sooner, if he had been paying attention to the screen behind Vega instead of focusing on payback.

"Sir, General Solomon wants a word with you," Chandra said.

"Put him on," McNeil said. "I suppose we have some good news for him."

However, when the African-American general appeared on the display, his face told McNeil right away something else was up.

"Nod forces have broken through our European perimeters, Mac. They've taken Hammerfest."

The name immediately registered, for more than one reason. "Hammerfest?"

"We think they're after our disruptor technology. The sonic crystals," Solomon continued. "I need your forces ready for immediate deployment. Destroy everything Nod has there. Get them off our base."

The general's rather empathic command ended the transmission, but McNeil was still considering the consequences of losing Hammerfest in the first place. Glancing back, Chandra gave voice to that concern.

"Mac, wasn't your brother at Hammerfest?"

McNeil felt his teeth grind but he gave a choppy nod. "See if General Langley is available. Hammerfest is still his backyard. Maybe he has some more details on the situation."

The response came rather quickly and it soon became apparent his friend had not been getting much in the way of sleep.

"Will. You look like hell," McNeil said.

"Well, good thing you never had much taste to begin with," Langley replied with a wiry grin. "You finished with Vega?"

"Was just getting started," McNeil said. "Then got a nuke dropped on us. Barely got out of ground zero myself. Some of my men weren't so lucky."

Langley blinked. "A nuke?"

McNeil nodded. "They're still tracing it, but it seems like the Brotherhood's a nuclear power again."

"Just bloody great," Langley muttered.

"Solomon just tapped me to retake Hammerfest," McNeil said, getting to the point. "What can you tell me?"

Langley sighed. "Not much. The bastards came out of nowhere. They somehow got inside the Firestorm perimeter and managed to basically take the base intact. We're still trying to figure out how."

"Intact!"

"Yeah. So much for impregnable."

McNeil considered the ramifications of Langley's report. His friend had been stationed at Hammerfest for quite some time before being handed European command and knew the systems there inside out. If even he had no idea how Nod had managed to penetrate it, retaking the base intact just got that much harder.

"Are there really no backdoors into the base?" McNeil asked.

"Oh there are backdoors," Langley said, surprising the field commander. "However, none of those back doors would have let Nod slip in such a large force. They're all water routes."

McNeil blinked. "I've never heard of that."

Langley snorted. "Of course not. You think we'd advertise such a vulnerability? But again, trust me when I say Nod's not equipped to move such a large force through them. They had to have gotten in another way."

Again Langley's words offered more revelations, but McNeil immediately latched onto one specific part. "You say Nod isn't equipped. What about us?"

"You could try, but the main problem is the Nod force that's set up camp southeast of the perimeter," said Langley. "I'd suggest sending in a small force to take down the perimeter. Once you do that, we can fly in reinforcements."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll be overhead within the next two hours."

Langley nodded. "I'll have a small team stand by for your orders. Due to the conditions, you'll only have light armor. But you need to take that base back intact, Mac. That place has too much of our weapons R&D facilities to let it get flattened."

"Don't worry about it Will, I'll take care of it."

Nodding, Langley sighed again. "Sorry, Mac."

"Hey, what're you apologizing for?"

"You know," Langley said softly.

Grimacing, it was McNeil's turn to nod. "Yeah, I guess I do. Don't worry about it, Will. If Nod really did find a way around Firestorm, then it's our own damn fault."

"Maybe. But taking Hammerfest is only going to be the tip of the iceberg, Mac. Whatever it is the hell they're planning, it's big. And now a nuke?"

"Yeah. But first thing's first. I'm taking back Hammerfest and getting back those crystals."

"Planning to pull another miracle out your ass? Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Godspeed, Mac. And we've got your back here too."

End of Chapter 11

The Nod mission to seize Hammerfest is vastly different from the one in the game for obvious reasons. The mission to take Vega's base is more in line with the game and was partially based on my own playthrough, though I did not really use Orcas that much. Those things were bloody expensive and the limited ammo got annoying. That and their vulnerability to SAMs was ridiculous. The Orca bomber on the other hand, a work of beauty.

Anyway, one thing people are likely to be curious about is O'Connor's powerbase. After all, he's been basically kicking GDI's ass all across western Russia. We won't really go into much depth about it until the Firestorm segment of the story, cause that's when his network really comes in handy for the Brotherhood, since specific part of O'Connor's command and control is not reliant on CABAL. There's a reason for this, but I have to be careful to not make O'Connor perfect. He's still going to take damage from CABAL's uprising, but it will be from O'Connor's powerbase that Nod regains much of its strength after the end of the Second Tiberian War and lay the foundation for the Third.

Z98


End file.
